Bears not rushing to reveal coaching changes

It was status quo when Bears coach Lovie Smith met with his players Monday morning before they scattered in different directions for the off-season.

Smith, general manager Jerry Angelo and team president Ted Phillips spent Monday discussing the future of the organization and what changes need to be made after a third straight non-playoff season.

But when Smith spoke to his players Monday morning, he gave no indication of the job insecurity that surrounds, if not him, then at least several members of his offensive staff.

"It was just like any other meeting," linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer said. "Lovie talked to us like we expect everything to be the same next year, like what our goals need to be for 2010 and what we need to do in the off-season to get there."

It appears Smith will get there, but offensive coordinator Ron Turner, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton are not expected to survive the off-season as Bears employees.

Hillenmeyer couldn't shed much light on that side of the ball.

"I have no idea," he said. "I know as much about our offense as you guys do. (But), from (linebackers coach Bob) Babich to Lovie, they've done a great job. And not just this year but over the course of six years. (Because of) what they've done for me and for a lot of guys in this locker room in terms of our development, I would hate to see a change."

Changes in the coaching staff aren't scheduled to be announced until today, when the Bears have scheduled a news conference at 2 p.m.

One of changes could eventually be the addition of a defensive coordinator. Babich had that title this season, but Smith handled the play calling, which he called "a chore."

Former Bears defensive backs coach Perry Fewell, who finished the regular season as the Buffalo Bills' interim head coach but was fired Monday with the rest of the staff, has been mentioned as a candidate to be defensive coordinator.

Fewell is still expected to interview for the Bills' permanent top job, but he is not considered a favorite.

Fewell spent only the 2005 season with the Bears before leaving to become the Bills' defensive coordinator under head coach Dick Jauron, who was the Bears' head coach from 1999-2003.

While the consensus around Halas Hall seems to be that Smith and the defensive coaches will survive another non-playoff season, statistics say there wasn't much difference between offensive and defensive production.

The Bears' offense was 19th in points, while the defense was 21st in points allowed. The offense was 23rd in yards; the defense 17th in yards allowed. The offense was 18th in third-down conversions, while the defense was 27th in third-down conversions allowed. The Bears struggled to run the ball and to stop the run.

Talks among the Bears' hierarchy will determine whether the blame for a 7-9 season falls on coaches or on players who made coaches look bad by not playing up to expectations.

"It's easy to say, 'yeah,'" cornerback Charles Tillman said when asked if players let Smith down. "But I don't think we stopped responding to the coaches. I just think we didn't play well. In some games we just didn't come through."