APNew Bears General Manager Phil Emery inherited coach Lovie Smith.
But make no mistake, it sounds at the moment like Smith is very much “his guy.”
There has been speculation about Smith’s future with the club, given the fact Emery joined him rather than picked him, but Emery sounds very much on board with the long-time Bears coach.
In fact, Smith is the fourth-longest tenured coach in the league, behind only Andy Reid, Bill Belichick and Marvin Lewis and tied with Tom Coughlin. But with a contract that runs through 2013, and a new man in charges, the questions are natural.
“I feel very fortunate,” Emery said in a Q and A with Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I don’t know why anybody would look at that as a negative. As a first-time GM, having been through several coaching changes as a scout and as a coach, I know how disruptive that is. You can’t ever be afraid to make a change, if you know it’s going to be disruptive. However, I think I walked into a very good situation with Lovie Smith as our head coach. I mean, he’s a dean in the NFL for a reason.
“You don’t stay as long as you, at any one club if there aren’t a lot of high quality attributes as a person that allows you to still be competing and working toward victories.”
Emery has a background with Smith, as he was a Bears regional scout when Smith was hired as head coach in 2004. He said he was impressed by Smith’s ability for interpersonal relationships, which helps him recruit free agents and deal with players once they arrive.
So that trumps the fact someone else hired him in Emery’s mind.
“I’m more caught up in the person that Lovie is, and he’s a guy I want to be around,” Emery said. “That’s the key. I want to be around him, and, as I told him, ‘I want to do my part for you, so we can all be successful.’ To me, it’s about helping him have the right players on the field, that are going to match his schemes and allow him to coach to his full efficiency, so we can win on the field.”
Asked about the fact Smith’s contract expires after 2013, Emery said: “My mind is not around that. It’s around the team and now.
“We’re all going to be judged by the same standards. That’s the standard I put myself on. At the end of that process, we’ll move forward, with where we’re at.”
Translated, Smith can still be Emery’s guy, even though he wasn’t his guy at first.
But if the Bears fall flat with the players Emery has just begun to assemble, the new GM can always go out and find another guy of his own.
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Well, Smith beats our Romeo Crennel.
Could be worse.
If only the team was successful. Outside of that it’s all good.
Emery is Lovie’s guy. I like Lovie, but it appears he may have too much power in Halas Hall, after all he held interviews for the GM position. All that said someone in the building better get more talent on that O-line.
The CHICAGO BEARS FANS like Lovie too BUT we love Emery cause he just gave Chicago a Superbowl Championship. Now its up too Lovie to WIN IT. He needs to out Coach his opponets… make them play his game an use his New team to do it. Bear Down……
The team will be successful, so it’s all good, anyway.
lovie is a stand up guy and as a coach he earns the players respect by treating them like family and men, and sticks his neck out for these guys, who wouldnt want to play their heart out for this guy every down
Lol. Goal 1: beat packers. Faaaaaaail.
This year, too. Neither game will be close. Packers will win by 30 each time.
thetokyosandblaster says: Aug 20, 2012 2:14 PM
Lol. Goal 1: beat packers. Faaaaaaail.
This year, too. Neither game will be close. Packers will win by 30 each time.
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Come on man.
They won the last game by 14 with our backup QB who now is a backup in Denver and our backup RB who is now out of football.
thetokyosandblaster says: Aug 20, 2012 2:14 PM
Lol. Goal 1: beat packers. Faaaaaaail.
This year, too. Neither game will be close. Packers will win by 30 each time.
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With your porous ‘D’ the only way you win both games by 30 points is if our defense gives up 60 each time…Ain’t gonna happen. Each team will win at home in a shootout…JMHO