[CBFF] No "Accounting" For Failure to Resign Smith

[Jim Ferolie]

Great post, Tom. Reads just like a newspaper column :)


----- Original Message ----- 


> http://bloggeddrain.typepad.com/cbff/2006/07/no_accounting_f.html
>
>
>
> No "Accounting" For Failure to Resign Smith
>
>
> One can hardly blame the Bears organization for being a bit cautious about
> throwing their money around to sign people to new contracts.  Such
> renegotiations represent a commitment which can quickly lead to regret. 
> No
> better example can be pointed to than when they resigned Dick Jauron.
>
> There are parallels in the situation of Lovie Smith to that of Jauron.
> Jauron was coming off of one good season, 2001.  It was a season which was
> dominated by a very good defense which made up for what can only be
> described as an anemic offense. Smith is now coming off of a first round
> playoff loss, just as Jauron did.  His one good season was also
> characterized by dominating defense and an unproductive offense.  The 
> Bears
> have, as  a result of these parallels, refused to sign Smith to a new
> contract leaving him as one of the lowest paid coaches in the league. 
> They
> are trading the risk associated with another year of escalating coaches
> salaries with the security associated with being able to let him go 
> cheaply
> if he falls this season.
>
> What I find to be disappointing is that, by refusing to resign Smith, the
> Bears have failed to recognize that the similarities between Jauron and he
> end there.  There is, in fact, one word which most describes the 
> difference
> between these two coaches and it is the same one which often separates 
> good
> from bad coaches in all areas of sport.  That word is "accountability".
> How does the coach hold himself , his coaches and his players accountable
> for their actions.
>
> By far the worst local example of ignoring accountability comes in the 
> form
> of Cubs' manager Dusty Baker.  Baker has never, to my knowledge, taken
> responsibility for any failure of the team.  In 2004, the Cubs collapsed
> following a playoff appearance the year before.  Did he hold himself
> accountable for the teams' play?  Did he even admit that they were
> underachieving?  No.  He blamed the media, which had praised him to the 
> sky
> in 2003, for raising expectations too high.  The team didn't fail to
> perform.  They simply failed to meet the expectations of the media which 
> had
> the gall to write that they should at least repeat what they had already
> accomplished the year before.  The result of all of this was and is
> predictable.  If the manager doesn't hold himself accountable for his own
> mistakes, why should the players?  Instead of pointing with the thumb, the
> players chose to look outside the team for reasons for failure.  Some 
> chose
> to blame the guys  doing the broadcasts, actually calling the booth and
> harassing them on at least one plane flight.  The team, of course, has
> continued to underachieve and with any luck, the Cubs will have a new
> manager next year.
>
> Fortunately Chicago is blessed with coaches that are quite the opposite.
> White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is an excellent example of a coach that
> never hesitates to hold both himself and his players accountable in the
> press.  Notre dame head coach Charlie Weiss was present as quarterback 
> Brady
> Quinn was being interviewed earlier this year.  As Brady answered a 
> question
> about his somewhat disappointing performance against Ohio State in the
> Fiesta Bowl, Weiss interrupted and said, "He's taking the hit.  The bottom
> line on that one is that the head coach has to get the team ready to play.
> And that's whose fault it was. If you want to blame someone, blame the 
> head
> coach. Because the team was a little flat."  It can be no coincidence that
> such a stand up guy inspires his players to be the same way and to hold
> themselves accountable for their own play.
>
> Jauron was a stand up guy, too.  No one can say that he didn't hold 
> himself
> accountable for the team's performance.  Week after week I listened to him
> take calls on his own radio show, taking a beating time after time.  He
> stood it all like a saint and took far more than his share of the blame 
> for
> the team's performance.
>
>
> No, Jauron's problem was in not holding those around him to the same
> standard that he held himself.  When the offense continued to stumble 
> Jauron
> chose to stick by his over matched offensive coordinator, John Shoop, to 
> the
> very end.  Instead of holding him responsible for the offense's continued
> failure, year after year, he held his loyalty to his coach over loyalty to
> the fans and the organization and it ruined him.  His attitude toward his
> players is no different.  Now in Buffalo, 11 veterans skipped his May 27
> workout.  Jauron's response?  Instead of justly criticizing his veterans 
> for
> hurting the team, he simply noted that this meant extra snaps for and more
> evaluation of the Bills' young players.
>
> Given the above, the difference between Jauron and Smith couldn't be more
> stark.  Unlike Baker, Smith also takes responsibility for the mistakes 
> that
> he and his coaching staff make.  But in the end, he also expects those
> around him to be competent and, unlike Jauron, failure to be so leads to
> consequences.  When the offense stumbled to 32nd in the league in 2004,
> instead of giving in to pride and investment in offensive coordinator 
> Terry
> Shea, Smith did the right thing by all accounts.  He fired Shea after only
> one year.  The Bears coach also didn't hide his clenched teeth when Thomas
> Jones and Lance Briggs missed (non-mandatory) workouts, giving Jones and
> Briggs the majority of their snaps with the second team during the 
> mandatory
> mini-camp in early June.
>
>
> Unlike his predecessor, Lovie Smith is all about winning and that means,
> among other things, that he's all about accountability - for himself, his
> coaches and his players.  He will never lose control of his team and he is
> very unlikely to inspire them to do anything less than perform to their
> maximum.  If they don't, he has shown clearly that they will be replaced.
> Smith is a winner and after this season, the Bears will very likely regret
> not sewing him up with another contract while they could do so for what 
> will
> be a comparably reasonable price.
>