Bears fire head coach

Chicago Tribune ^ | 12/29/2003

[Thane_Banquo]

Dick Jauron, 35-46 with only one winning season in five years as the Bears head coach, has been fired with one year remaining on his contract.

He got the news about 9 a.m. Monday morning in a meeting with general manager Jerry Angelo.

"Simply put, expectations were not met," Angelo said in a Monday afternoon press conference. He also said that the team needs to win "on a more consistent basis."

[clamper1797]

So ... when does Callahan (Raiders) get the axe ??? None to soon in my book

[Captain Peter Blood]

Why would Jimmy Johnson come back to coaching? He was asked that yesterday on the NFL Pre-Game show by his co-hosts and the answer was a resounding no.
Why should he. He has done everything you can do and now has a great life. Why go back to that pressure? He doesn't need the headaches.

[KC_Conspirator]

I am a Bears fan (but a bigger Chiefs fan) and I am glad to see Jauron go as well. However, I think that the Bears front office is to blame because of awful personnel decisions in the past couple of years.

1) The Bears can't draft well.
2) Do not take Florida quarterbacks, they are overrated (the one exception being the new frosh).
3) The Bears never replaced Ted Washington and other d-linemen.
4) Who the hell thought that Kordell Stewart was a good choice to lead this team in the first place? That is either a lack of judgement or a lack of planning.
5) There are few playmakers at key offensive positions.
6) In all reality, the o-line stinks. There is too much penetration in the backfield.

[Solson]

Isn't this the current proposal for the NFL meetings coming up? I think this will be the case in the upcoming year or two.

[mattdono]

So what will the Fins do about the QB situation?

I don't know if you need to do anything about the QB. Fiedler is the QB that no one really believes in, or wants to believe in. He is an average to slighty-above-average QB. But look at his record, he lost to Houston, New England, New England, and Philidelphia. No one on the team "showed up" for the Houston game, so throw that out; New England is the best team in football; and the Eagles are NFC East champs and the #1 seed in the NFC. These teams are hard to beat when you do have a "great" QB, so Fiedler losing these games shouldn't be a shock.

So, he isn't bad, but can he win a Super Bowl? I don't think so, but, then again, Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl and he isn't a world beater and is quite comparable to Fiedler in skill and ability (average to slightly-above-average). So, how did Dilfer win a Super Bowl? Defense, plain and simple.

Dilfer and Billick's offense didn't make stupid mistakes, like the Dolphins have this year (RabidBartender was making this point also). The Ravens Super Bowl defense were world beaters and they played hard, they schemed, and they matched and over powered their opponents.

The Dolphins have a much more high-powered offense with Williams, Chambers, and McMichael, but they need to play smart. On defense, they need to scheme, be unpredictable, and play hardnosed ball, which the Dolphins defense can do. In fact, look at the Ravens game (a 9-6 Dolphins win) and the Dolphins proved they can play very tough defense.

So, I'm not so sure that the Dolphins solution revolves around the QB, though having a better QB probably wouldn't hurt.

[Alberta's Child]

I think Coughlin goes to the Giants, unless something drastic happens in the next few weeks. The Giants have always liked to go with "home-grown" coaches whenever possible, and a tough disciplinarian like Coughlin is exactly what they need right now.

[mattdono]

I think that you are right about that. That said, I don't think that Coughlin will last 2 years in NYC. The Jacksonville media would get to him and that is child's play compared to the media in NYC. We'll see.

I met Coach Coughlin in Mobile at the Senior Bowl one year. He is a very intense guy. I think that the Giants could use a guy like that. Time will only tell if that intensity will help/hurt him with the media morons in NYC.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

He's from my hometown.

[Alberta's Child]

Good point. Interestingly, the ideal candidate to coach the Giants is right across the hallway at the Meadowlands -- Herman Edwards. He's a no-nonsense guy who runs a very disciplined team, and he's a media favorite as well because he pulls no punches and offers no excuses in post-game interviews.

[pctech]

Whoever the Bears bring in, #1 He better be good, and #2 he better be left alone about who he hires and how he coaches. I want a take-charge guy, not a butt-kisser like Angelo.

[pctech]

Watch it dude, there are Bears Fans here, and even though we been beat up, we still remember the days when we stomped the Packers scrawny butts!!

Seriously, I gotta hand Farve some credit when he said what a class act Jauron is. I hope they do the NFC central proud and bring home the Super Bowl Title!

[paul51]

Hopefully the bills will dump williams tomorrow

[mattdono]

Herman Edwards is definitely no nonsense. He is also a real "players coach". Having been a player in the not-too-distant past, he still has a real good feel for the game.

He would be a good pickup for any team out there.

[mattdono]

They dumped him late this afternoon. If that was your wish, it was granted.

[paul51]

Wow. While were at it I have a few more wishes. The lotto is up to around 70 million. Let's start there.

[Kozak]

Watch it dude, there are Bears Fans here, and even though we been beat up, we still remember the days when we stomped the Packers scrawny butts!!

Gee Gramps, what was it like to watch football before the forward pass?

Look you really don't want our pity do you? It would be great to battle it out every year with the Bears, ( as long as we win of course!). MUch classier group with the appropriate appreciation of tradition and history unlike the fans of a certain group who prance around in purple with long yellow wigs resembling the worlds ugliest group of transvestites...

Hope we can fulfill your hopes starting with a win against Mickey and the Seahacks.This town is a rocking so come a knockin...

[Kozak]

p.s. I grew up near Division and Western. But was "turned" in the 60's by Starr, Nitschke, Wood, Lombardi et al.

[Zack Nguyen]

LOL. A "special" kind of magic. The Cowboys were "special" in that way too, going 5-11 for three straight years.

[mattdono]

Well, if we split it, I will say some major prayers for you, bro'.

Deal?

[BOBWADE]

"So they brought in Kordell, and he promptly threw two interceptions."
Kind of reminded me of ole Tony Banks. HEHE