It’s time to give in: Lovie, you win
Bears head coach Lovie Smith wins again.
Not games. Not lately anyway. Not since Nov. 20. Not since Jay Cutler was injured. Not since Matt Forte went down.
The game Smith won isn’t a game at all. It’s much bigger. It’s the battle of wills over his job status.
Smith indeed wins.
I indeed lose.
Smith’s approval rating is lower than those of the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and President Obama.
Yet Smith is secure in his job. The sense is that Bears fans hold the McCaskey ownership and general manager Jerry Angelo more responsible for the Bears’ sorry state.
Smith has positioned himself as almost an afterthought in the blame game.
Yes, Lovie Smith has won.
I have lost.
Resignation has settled into my bones, so I will not rant and rave again this year that the Bears should fire Smith.
It no longer is constructive to note that Smith received more power after coaching the Bears into the Super Bowl five years ago.
A good guess is that Smith has considerable input in Bears drafts, or at least that Angelo drafts to fit Smith’s preference and playbook.
Beyond that, a lesser man than I am might point out that Smith has made some awful decisions in the deployment of however many competent players the Bears have.
Like, you won’t hear me say that most recently Smith played backup quarterback Caleb Hanie too long before switching to Josh McCown and running back Marion Barber too long before promoting Kahlil Bell.
What good would it do to keep mentioning those miscalculations if Smith isn’t going anywhere anyway?
Yes, I surrender.
Smith wins.
Now, if I still were engaged in the anti-Lovie movement I would scream how bogus an argument it is that injuries derailed the Bears.
Instead I brainwashed myself to barely remember the name of the Houston Texans coach … something like Gary Kubiak, isn’t it?
It’s irrelevant that the Texans also lost their quarterback (Matt Schaub) and best offensive weapon (Andre Johnson).
I’ll just accept the notion that the Texans gave Kubiak better backups and better talent in general than Smith has.
Never mind that Kubiak secured a division title with rookie fifth-round draft choice T.J. Yates filling in for Schaub at quarterback.
Never mind also that Packers head coach Mike McCarthy won the Super Bowl last season after losing 15 players to injury.
Never mind finally that Smith couldn’t figure out how to avoid losing to Kansas City’s Todd Haley, who was fired soon after, and to Denver in what might turn out to be Tim Tebow’s last NFL victory as a starting quarterback.
Lovie Smith wins anyway.
I still lose.
Nothing is forever unless it turns out that way, and it clearly is going to turn out that Smith will be the Bears’ head coach forever and ever.
Along with Smith we’ll be able to enjoy his dubious game coaching, bend-but-not-break defense and lame explanations for Bears mistakes.
The McCaskeys like Smith and always will look for reasons to support him — injuries, bad breaks, the sun coming up in the east — rather than to upgrade the position.
Seriously, there is no future in suggesting that Smith’s future should be elsewhere.
Join me in being resigned to one simple fact.
Lovie Smith wins again.
mimrem@dailyherald.com