Let's hope Bears have bold Plan B

While waiting to see how Plan A works out, effective leaders already are exploring Plan B.

You know, just in case.

So the question is whether instead of merely pondering the coming game, is Bears ownership pondering the coming winter?

That especially means taking a good, long, uncomfortable look at head coach Lovie Smith.

That also means determining whether Bill Cowher or Mike Holmgren could do it better, as suspicions would indicate.

Is Smith's training camp tough enough? Is he getting the most out of his players? Are his systems working?

The McCaskey family hired club president Ted Phillips, Phillips hired general manager Jerry Angelo, and Angelo hired Smith. Ideally, all these pieces would remain in place, the Bears would be progressing, and this would be a model franchise.

Maybe it'll turn out that way. Maybe the Bears' 1-2 record will evolve into the playoffs. Maybe everything will be Lovie-dovey.

"We're close," Smith said of his team's play in his customary sleepy manner Monday.

But what if the Bears aren't close in January and instead are what they appear to be today - stuck in neutral or reverse?

Two quality coaches are expected to be available: Cowher, now working in TV, and Holmgren, now in his final season as Seahawks coach.

Assuming the McCaskeys aren't selling, Phillips isn't retiring, and Angelo isn't surrendering - well, will they consider the bold move of firing Smith and hiring somebody with the presence of a Cowher or a Holmgren?

Either would be another head to help Angelo evaluate the Bears' talent, scouting staff and methods.

Listen, these are the Bears. Everybody and anybody should want to coach this brand-name team. As Mike Ditka saw in the 1980s, winning here is more rewarding than winning anywhere else.

Cowher's success was in Pittsburgh, almost a little Chicago. Holmgren's was in Green Bay, same division and region and weather as here, and his daughters attended North Park University.

The NFL's most successful franchises pursue people like them.

Patriots owner Bob Kraft stole Bill Belichick from the Jets. Colts owner Jim Irsay recruited Bill Polian, the league's best general manager. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones persuaded Bill Parcells to at least initiate Dallas' rebuilding program.

Trust me, if Kraft or Jones or any another forceful NFL owner wanted Cowher or Holmgren, he would doggedly go after him.

But bold hasn't been the Bears' style since George Halas was fed up enough to make Jim Finks hire Ditka to replace Neill Armstrong as head coach and make Ditka retain Buddy Ryan as defensive coordinator.

The difference now is the urgency level. The McCaskeys have their new stadium, tickets are sold, suites are full, sponsors are lined up, media contracts are signed, and revenue streams are flowing.

But is the object to make as much money as possible or to build an organization that consistently contends for the Super Bowl?

Smith would have to be paid millions of dollars to leave, and Cowher or Holmgren would have to be paid millions more to come.

Hey, if money is the object, the wrong people own this team. If power is, the wrong people run it.

Most of all if a Plan B isn't already being explored, everything is wrong.

mimrem@dailyherald.com