I was having this really good morning until I opened the paper to the sports section. I was all smiles and sunshine until then. But, one quick scan of the headlines told me all I needed to know. Today is a dark day for Chicago sports’ fans. The clouds will not part, the skies will not open to shades of gladdening azure. The birds are all quiet.
I may be over reacting, but I don’t think so.
Let’s start with the worst news going and work our way down. Less than a week after his agent publicly stated that he had no interest in the job, the Bears hired Rod Marinelli anyway to be their Defensive Coordinator. I am not sure how that worked.
RM: I don’t wanna be the DC.
Lovie: You’ll be sent to bed without your supper.
RM: I don’t care. I don’t wanna be the DC.
Lovie: We’ll take away your clipboard.
RM: NOT MY CLIPBOARD!
Lovie: Yesssssssss.......
RM: (sighing) oh, okay.
Seriously, the best guy for the job was one who turned it down twice in one month? DAVID HAUGH over at the Tribune tries to make sense of it all and fails.
It’s understandable why you wouldn’t endorse the Bears’ promotion Friday of Rod Marinelli to assistant head coach/defensive coordinator a month after he turned down the job. Marinelli’s agent, Frank Bauer, reiterated his client’s reluctance to take on defensive play-calling duties to the Tribune last week at the Senior Bowl. A guy hired to fix a defense shouldn’t have to be talked into the job.
But that’s how badly the job is viewed around the league.
Here’s the description: Stay within the boundaries of the Cover-2 defense. Run everything by a head coach who bristles at the mere suggestion of change defensively. Oh, and find a way to reverse a trend that has been spiraling downward since the Super Bowl three seasons ago — in one year.
What qualified NFL defensive coordinator with experience — what the Bears need — would come under those shaky conditions?
After that one year, there are no guarantees. Lovie Smith’s tenuous job status limited the field of potential defensive coordinators as much as Smith’s stubborn insistence on sticking with the status quo.
Remember when Ted Phillips talked about massive changes back on Jan. 5?
As inspired of a choice as Mike Martz was to run the offense, the selection of Marinelli falls flat. This might even be a bigger risk than Martz will be.
This weakens the Bears’ staff in two key spots. Diverting Marinelli’s attention from the daily chore of coaching defensive linemen takes away one of the league’s best position coaches. Replacing Marinelli with Eric Washington guarantees nothing except the Bears will be trying their fifth defensive line coach of Smith’s tenure.
I am beginning to think that the coaches’ entrance at Halas Hall is a revolving door. While I have to admit that there weren’t a ton of options available, I have to think that there was more than one. Especially when that one did not want the job in the first, or second, place. All this means to fans is that we will suffer through another year of Lovie’s defensive genius being forced down our throats. The, Martz lead, offense may have to score 50 every game just to keep it close.
More good news can be found on the Bulls. With Noah down with a severe heel injury and several other players among he walking wounded, Gar Forman may be forced to trade for someone who can stand upright. Walking and other skills may not be required. The Bulls went down to Georgia last night and fell apart in the fourth quarter so dramatically that they may as well not have played in it. Forget Charlie Daniels while watching this game, fans were chugging Jack Daniels trying to erase the pain.
Back at the Madhouse on Madison, the Hawks looked as though they had lost their contact lenses they spent so much time scanning the ice. Actually, they just looked lost. They should have easily beaten Phoenix. This is not a team that is a contender. It doesn’t help matters when muckrakers can correctly point out that the Hawks haven’t won since they spent the night in a limo with hockey groupies.
A side note here. As someone who has been in the music industry for over 25 years, I can safely say that I have seen godawful cover bands, that couldn’t make it through The Standell’s Dirty Water without screwing it up, score better looking babes than the Hawks found in Vancouver. I have been in bands that had no hope at all and still nailed hotter looking chicks than that. Hell, one night in Ypsilanti Michigan, I wasn’t even in the band and ... oh, wait, never mind. Back to the blog.
The Cubs signed Kevin Millar yesterday. I have lost count but do believe that this signing gives them 14 first basemen, 11 of whom are at the end of their careers. If I’m Derrek Lee I am on the phone to my agent before sunset yesterday. There’s writing on the wall and then there’s a bullhorn in in your face. What other reason could they have for this plethora of first basemen unless the Wonderful Mr. Lee is headed for greener pastures against his will? Anywhere else Lee would be a player that you build around. Here? Not so much so.
Over at the Cell, MLB.com’s very own SCOTT MERKIN took time to interview Brooks Boyer (Sox Chief Marketing Officer) and he admitted that he screwed up the budget projections for the 2009 season. However, since he wasn’t off by much and the team was not unduly burdened with bloated contracts, they were able to work around it. It is a very good read if you have the time. Taking the interview out of context would cause more confusion than anything else, so I won’t clip any of it here.
Actually, all of this makes me wonder; do sportswriters have groupies?