Playoffs?  He’s talking about…playoffs?  Today, for the first time during his tenure with the Chicago Bears, Lovie Smith made me a bit sick.  I’ve always known (and written) that he is a stubborn coach, blindly loyal to a silly system and often-ineffective players.  But today stubborness gave way to delusion as a man stood in front of the gathered media and attempted to sell them the Brooklyn Bridge.  The Bears are double-digit underdogs this week and are coming apart at the seams.  If they win four of their final six games, the end of this season will be a success and the club will only be 8-8.

Bill Parcells was famous for his Psychology of Results.  You are what the record says you are.  Lovie Smith practices the Pathology of Reflection.  The Chicago Bears are never as bad as they play in losses to Smith.  Apparently they are brilliant practicers but I think most teams would look brilliant practicing against the Chicago Bears.  If you don’t agree with the coach, you’re just a naysaying media member or unintelligent fan.  Here are the facts.  Three years ago the Bears lost the Super Bowl to the Indianapolis Colts.  And at the end of this season, they will have been a losing team since. 

These are the Chicago Bears.  And this should not be tolerated.  The coaches – the big time coaches – are available.  My guy is Mike Shanahan, the perfect choice to reboot the running game and mold the quarterback.  With him might come Alex Gibbs, the best offensive line coach in the world, and the first offensive-minded system in many-a-moon.  The other guys, and you know the names, are viable options too.

It just can’t be Lovie Smith in 2010.  The Bears can not go to Bourbonnais with these coaches and system and expect to make the leap to championship contender.  We’ve seen too much evidence to the contrary.  The Bears shouldn’t require a disaster to make a change.  They shouldn’t have to hit rock bottom.  Make the change now and send a message inside the locker room that hovering around .500 is not good enough on Lake Shore.  Hovering around .500 is what they do over on W. Addison.

Lovie Smith is not the guy.  Some guys are not the guy and Lovie Smith is not the guy.  Go get the guy, Chicago Bears.  He’s out there.