No love for Lovie on Hintz Road billboard

The Bears defense may not generate much of a pass rush, but a group of fans is visibly calling on the team to sack its coaching staff.

Drivers on Hintz Road may notice a new billboard erected Wednesday by the folks behind bearfansunited.org. The sign urges the McCaskey family to fire Head Coach Lovie Smith, General Manager Jerry Angelo and the rest of the staff after this losing season.

"Bears football is supposed to be fun," Web site founder Andrew Gasser said. "And it's not been fun."

The billboard will read: "To the McCaskey Family: Do the right thing. Hire an entirely new coaching staff and GM. Sincerely, The Chicago Bears Fans."

Since starting the Web site four days ago, they've raised about $3,500 from other fans for the billboard, which costs $3,000. Their goal is to raise $13,000 to buy full-page newspaper ads. Gasser said they'll donate anything leftover to the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation.

The billboard idea germinated last week in an online rant on the team's official Web site. Libertyville's Dave Becker chimed in, offering his billboard at Wheeling Auto Center, 2430 Hintz Road in Arlington Heights.

"Hopefully the message gets back to the family," Becker said.

The group took some heat on the airwaves Monday afternoon. 670-AM's Terry Boers and Dan Bernstein ripped the idea, saying the money could be better used by a charitable organization.

Gasser, a frequent sports radio caller, retorted that Boers and Bernstein were "anti-American" for telling him how he could spend his own money.

"If we want to start a bonfire with $100 bills, more power to us," Gasser said.

Becker added his business donates to a variety of charities, including the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association.

For the record, Gasser and Becker have Smith's replacement already picked out: former Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan, who has past experience with Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.