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

[Tom Shannon]

Thanks, Jim.  I'd like to try to at least make it sound like I know what I'm
talking about.  :)

Tom S.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com [mailto:cbff-
> bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com] On Behalf Of Jim Ferolie
> Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 7:51 PM
> To: post at chicagobearsfanforum.com
> Subject: Re: [CBFF] No "Accounting" For Failure to Resign Smith
> 
> 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.
> >
> 
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