Dick Jauron should be retained as the Bears’ head coach!
It’s hard to believe 7-9 is a successful year, but it is. This season has been Jauron’s best coaching job considering the hurdles that he’s had to clear.
After a 1-5 start, many teams would rather prepare to golf in Arizona, not face the Arizona Cardinals. Jauron never let the Bears stop playing with passion and pride.
Defensive end Phillip Daniels praised Jauron for his leadership: “Guys love playing for coach Jauron. . . . We don’t have a lot of problems like some teams have when they start losing. Look at Oakland.” Since that rough start, the Bears went 6-4 and were still in contention for the playoffs into the last month of the season.
Beyond the huge holes left by Ted Washington and Roosevelt Colvin on defense, the offense stalled behind an offensive line made up of nomads. Chris Villarial and Olin Kreutz were the only known commodities, and Villarial spent much of the season out or nursing injuries. The only bright spot on the O-line was Aaron Gibson, who played all 16 games at right tackle after many had given up on him.
Jauron is a man of his word, rare in the NFL. Once the Bears were eliminated from the playoffs, he stuck with his plan to play Rex Grossman. Grossman has been better than expected, another credit to Jauron because of his decision to bring in QB guru Greg Olson to tutor Grossman. It would’ve been easy for Jauron to pop Grossman into the starting lineup earlier and use him as a scapegoat.
Jauron has character in spades. He is a good representative for the Bears and Chicago. While rumors about his job were swirling around him, he focused on winning games and developing players.
Finally, it would be fiscally irresponsible of the McCaskey family to dismiss Jauron. He has one year and $2.4 million left on his contract. The Bears aren’t likely to spend what Jimmy Johnson or even Nick Saban would demand on top of owing Jauron.
This team has fought back from adversity and injury to get close to .500. They are poised to contend for the NFC North and the playoffs next year. Their QB is settled, and the defense is ranked fifth in the NFC.
Jauron has gotten the Bears this far under much duress. He should be given the opportunity to finish the job.–laurence w. holmes is a redeye special contributor.
Dick Jauron should be fired!
The Bears are no closer to a Super Bowl now than they were when Dave Wannstedt left Chicago. In Jauron’s five year tenure, he has failed miserably each year (except 2001) to reach the objectives for which he was hired.
Speaking of the 13-3 season, fans and the Bears should stop using it as a crutch. At their supposed best, Jauron’s Bears were terribly unprepared for his one playoff game in which they were manhandled by a hungrier Eagles team. And while Philadelphia continues to contend for the Super Bowl, the Bears are clawing to reach mediocrity.
The humbling defeats are too many to mention, but if you look at the four “must wins” this year alone, it’s easy to see why a dismissal of Jauron is not only prudent, but necessary.
So what if Jauron’s players love him! He makes their lives easy. If they loved him so much they should’ve played harder the first six weeks of this season or during any of Jauron’s four other seasons. Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown are arguably the most talented players on the team. Both have regressed.
This team didn’t get better until the talented rookies took the field. That’s a testament to Jerry Angelo’s player evaluation, not Jauron’s coaching.
Finally, the most glaring reason to dismiss Jauron is his obstinateness: He can be forgiven for not being an offensive-minded coach, but his continued loyalty to John Shoop and his antiquated offense is ludicrous!
Of all the Bears’ problems, the offense is the most obvious, but Jauron has never wavered in his support of Shoop. For that failure, Jauron should be accountable.
There’s no doubt that Dick Jauron is a good, honest, hardworking man, but the Bears need a real football coach. A 35-46 career record screams “time’s up!” The only move that helps this team progress is a fresh start, and that can’t happen until Jauron is gone.
THE TRUTH
I’m conflicted on what to do about Dick Jauron. Instead of a therapist,
I’m going to work it out with you.
———-
E-mail me at lwh6@hotmail.com
