Alan Williams is no longer the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears after his surprising resignation on Wednesday. Rumors are currently swirling about why he resigned, some have already been disproven, but if and until those rumors are confirmed, we will only go with what we've been told: Williams stepped away for health and family reasons.
For now, head coach Matt Eberflus will call plays for the defense as he did in Week 2. Honestly, that's a good thing for the Bears. They gave up an absurd 470 yards of offense to the Buccaneers but surrendered just 20 points (minus the pick-six at the end). On four red zone trips, the Buccaneers scored just one touchdown.
The performance was far from perfect, but it was a textbook example of the "bend but don't break" defensive philosophy. Giving up 20 points on the road is usually a recipe for victory, and it might have been if the offense had done its part and capitalized on good field position.
But is it best for the Bears to have Eberflus wearing two hats for the rest of the season? He said he wanted to be a CEO-type of a head coach who oversees everything, allowing his coordinators to focus on the small details of playcalling. Maybe that's the course they decide to go, but it wouldn't be too outlandish this early in the season to add an experienced defensive coordinator to the staff.
Is there someone out there that has experience as an NFL defensive coordinator? Is there someone who's run a similar "bend but don't break" Tampa-2 defense? Someone who has coached for Chicago in the past?
Yeah, I'm talking about Lovie Smith.
Smith was most recently the head coach of the Houston Texans, where he helped lead them to a dramatic Week 18 win over the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, thus securing the first overall pick for the Bears.
If he was willing to return to Chicago as an interim defensive coordinator, I see no reason why the Bears shouldn't make that hire. You won't find a single, more qualified candidate anywhere in the league who is available. Smith has decades of experience coaching, including coaching for this team with the same defensive system.
It's a perfect match, and I hope that Eberflus at least reaches out to Lovie to gauge his interest.
The Bears could use a jolt of good news, and adding Lovie Smith to the staff would certainly be some.
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