Tony Dungy Wrong When He Calls Chicago Bears Spoiled

With the dysfunctional 2014 nearing an end, there looks to be a lot of changes for the Chicago Bears.

says that the firing of Lovie Smith led to a lot of it and that it was not fair. He says Chicago was spoiled by Smith. Here is why Dungy is wrong.

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This awful, embarrassing Chicago Bears 2014 season is just about over, thank goodness. Now the fans await to learn the fates of some of the people responsible for this debacle. There is Marc Trestman, who seems to have lost control of this team. There is Mel Tucker, who is in way over his head in trying to come up with a defensive scheme. There is Joe DeCamillis, who, under his watch, has seen the once solid special teams unit become a joke. There is also Phil Emery, the man who hired all these men, and who prematurely gave Jay Cutler a huge contract.

That is a long list of people responsible for this. There should be a lot of changes after time expires against the Minnesota Vikings next week.

Now comes word from Tony Dungy on what he thinks is one reason for the chaos. In an interview with David Steele of the Sporting News, Dungy says that the firing of former coach Lovie Smith was unfair, and the firing was not good for the organization.

“It’s not necessarily doing what’s best for the organization, it’s hearing a lot from the outside and hearing about disappointment and expectations not being met, and being convinced that a change has to be made.”

Dungy went on to say that Chicago management and fans were spoiled with the victories racked up by Smith. “Sometimes, you can get spoiled by success,” said Dungy. ” “Nine-, 10-, 11-win seasons, but you didn’t win the Super Bowl, so that’s unacceptable, you have to strive for more…

“Minnesota had Adrian Peterson. Because Green Bay couldn’t stop Adrian Peterson, they missed the playoffs, and that was it. That’s about as silly as it gets in the NFL, but that’s how it happens sometimes.”

Really, Mr. Dungy? So Chicago got spoiled with all those victories and not having any Super Bowls to show for it? Firing Smith was unfair?

What I think is unfair is to not give a successor a fair shot when the predecessor was overrated as a head coach. Yes, I said it. LOVIE SMITH WAS OVERRATED!

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In his coaching career with the Bears, Lovie Smith has an overall record of 81-63, which is very good. But looking deeper into his record, you will see that Smith took advantage of beating up on the weaker teams in the NFL. He has an incredible 51-15 record against teams with losing records, and he has a losing record of 30-48 against teams with .500 or better records.

When you look at the playoff record of Smith, things are not so good either. His Bears teams appeared in only three playoffs in his nine years, and he owns a record of 3-3. Two of those wins came in 2006, when he led the Bears to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Indianapolis Colts, coached by, you guessed it, Tony Dungy.

Smith has an almost cult-like following among his former players. Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Julius Peppers are players who just adored Smith, and once he was fired, they either did not come back (Urlacher), or they played with an “I don’t care” attitude.

Sorry Mr. Dungy, but Chicago was not spoiled by Lovie Smith. He was an okay coach, but he could not win the big game. He kept a good part of the fan base happy by having winning records through smoke an mirrors, and by beating the Packers every once in awhile.

The Bears needed to fire Smith, or there would be more meaningless wins against weak teams, losses against good teams, and if there even is a playoff appearance, an early exit.

Now, if they can just get a replacement who can coach better, and not take a step back, then we’ll be all good.

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