Poll: Worst Coach in Chicago Bears History
by Dane Noble on May 14, 2010 2:37 PM CDT
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PrintWith the week coming to an end... how about a quick Poll as an appetizer for the weekend?
Consider: wins/losses, playoff appearances, drafting, leadership, player development, media relations... anything that could be considered reasonable criteria. Who is the worst Chicago Bears coach of all time?
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Bumstedt
It would be nice to have some of the “criteria” you speak of before casting my vote. Regardless, based on his horrendous drafting record (yes, someone drafted worse than JA the past 3 years) Wanny gets my vote.
''I'm really not a Facebook or Twitter guy. I'm a prime rib and baked potato guy.'' - Sweet Lou
Many reasons why i voted for Wanny but the most important is
his crappy wanna be Ditka mustache. I mean seriously look at it.
BearNecessities you're my assistant, okay you're supposed to
back me up and go get me juice boxes when I tell you. Now go get me
a juice box.
by Ditkavsworld on May 14, 2010 2:47 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
What are the records?
Ok, I looked it up… Gibron was bad.
"When I played pro football, I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something." ~ Dick Butkus
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on May 14, 2010 2:59 PM CDT reply actions
I was a kid than
and that is when I started following the Bears, So I guess I have lived through the worst.
by CastlemanXXXX on May 14, 2010 10:04 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't think
most who voted are way too young to know what really, really bad is. Abe Gibron and Vince Dooley were rock bottom. Another example of decent assistant coaches making truly awful head coaches.
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain
I was around through the Dooley/Gibron days and they were horrible teams, but it was also a time when Papa Bear started
to become “Al Davis” and the franchise infrastructure was going nowhere so the expectations of those guys weren’t very high other than from Halas. They were his handpicked assistants who were loyal to him and not necessarily the greatest coaching talent. It wasn’t until Muggs Halas began taking over and later brought on Jim Finks that things started to solidify. After Muggs unexpected death, George stepped back in and didn’t like the idea of an outsider (Finks) running the team and plucked Da Coach out of the Cowboys special teams. It turned out to be an inspired move, albeit somewhat lucky, but without the foundation that Muggs and Finks put down, I doubt that the ’85 Bears would have been the team we all remember.
Well you really can't blame us for not being around during that timeframe.
Most people will vote for what they know. I’m sure they were horrendous and from seeing some of the stats posted in this thread they may indeed be worse than Wanny but to most of us who lived in the Wanny era feel a connection to the suckyness that is the wannabe DitkaSeleck stash.
BearNecessities you're my assistant, okay you're supposed to
back me up and go get me juice boxes when I tell you. Now go get me
a juice box.
by Ditkavsworld on May 15, 2010 11:06 AM CDT up reply actions
Say what you want about lovie
But he has won games and brought us up from absymal to great and then to mediocre. No way hes the worst.
I went with WANNNNY
No Doubt............
It’s Wanny by a landslide.
by Dozjah on May 14, 2010 3:45 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
I went with Wanny over Lovie based on one thing
Expectations….Wanny was the hottest coaching commodity that was available at that time. He came from a great Cowboys team and everyone thought he’d be the next Ditka/Parcells/Johnson. I can’t even blame the McCaskeys for that choice. He proved us, and then the poor saps in Miami, wrong.
Lovie is a close second also based on expectations, not because of his pedigree, but because he had success early and then has gone steadily downhill even with some of the bigget free agent signings in the history of the franchise.
Those other guys may have had worse records, but they took over terrible teams and no one really expected that much out of them at any time.
Exactly
Lovie came to Chicago at exactly the perfect time – when Urlacher, Harris, Mike Brown and Nate Vasher were all healthy and in their primes.
I think anyone could have led us to the Super Bowl under those circumstances, at that particular point in time. Since the talent has aged and declined, our record has just gotten worse…
.268 was Abe Gibrons winning % in 3 years
Wanny had a .417 % in Chicago with a 1-1 playoff record. I didn’t like Wanny, and I was never aware of Gibron, but that % is terrible.
"When I played pro football, I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something." ~ Dick Butkus
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on May 14, 2010 4:01 PM CDT reply actions
I think Wanny gets a bad wrap
Because he was terrible at media relations – he seemed inarticulate at times, and you could tell when he was discouraged, which seemed like pretty much all the time.
Jauron wasn't "terrible"
he at least kicked stuff in the right direction for this past decade…failstedt just kind of…failed. hard.
I voted Wanny
When you look at the fact that Lovie, took us to the Super Bowl, he should not have even been listed among the worst coaches in franchise history. You guys remember how we were all throwing fits, when Jerry Jones was trying to steal him away from us?
by DaBearsinOklahoma on May 14, 2010 4:53 PM CDT reply actions
I find the recent bias amusing
No way is Lovie, or even Jauron the worst in history. They both have managed to have success, even if it was just making the playoffs. Guys like Pardee, Dooley or Wanny are FAR, FAR worse.
Mark Schlereth is a Douche-Bag!!
Just throwing that out there..
Adrian Pedestrian!! Now that's funny Mr. Bayless...
by Syndor on May 14, 2010 7:17 PM CDT reply actions 3 recs
Never get tired of seeing that. Wreck.
BearNecessities you're my assistant, okay you're supposed to
back me up and go get me juice boxes when I tell you. Now go get me
a juice box.
by Ditkavsworld on May 15, 2010 8:13 AM CDT up reply actions
agreed
Gets my vote for biggest douche-bag on E astern S eaboard P ropaganda N etwork, but hten again, I think that whole network has something against Chicago, it gets old listening to them kiss the ass of the N.Y., Boston area.
What were they thinking?
by touchdown bears on May 15, 2010 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions
Here is why Wanny is the worst
Best to worst
Paradee vs Pack 5-1 .833
Lovie vs pack 7-7 .500
Armstrong vs Pack 4-4 .500
Dooley vs pack 2-4 .333
Gibron vs pack 2-4 .333
Jauron vs pack 2-8 .200
Wanny vs pack 1-11 .083
Though Wanny had the best Packer competition though I guess that the expectation was to beat them even if they were in the 5 year superbowl window.
I want to know, who voted other??????????
Being really young , I only seen 1 year of Wanny.He seemed Ok I guess, I mean from what I’ve seen of him ………….I remember Dick Jauron, he was a terrible coach!!! If it wasn’t for a young Urlacher and a couple of talented plays by Mike Brown………..
by I love football! on May 14, 2010 8:05 PM CDT reply actions
Mr Peabody's time machine needed
See, this is a problem with the younger crowd.
Not your fault, because you’re too young to remember Abe Gibron.
The Bears in the early 70’s were terrible, mostly due to him.
Wanny, bad as he was, doesn’t come close.
Wish you could have been there…..you’d appreciate Lovie and other coaches more than you do.
God, Gibron’s teams were just horrible!
Abe
Under his leadership the Bears were a disgrace. Most of you can be thankful that you are too young to remember him.
by 62bearsthe best on May 14, 2010 9:37 PM CDT reply actions
i just picked a random name that wasn't lovie smith
i didn;t really pay attention to who the coach was until Juron
Do or do not there is not try-Master Yoda
Is it limited to head coaching?
Or are coordinators fair game?
I'm a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class. Especially since I rule. -Randal Graves
Writer at windycitygridiron.com -/-I http://www.twitter.com/kdoggers
Phone call for Terry Shea, line 2.
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
the quick twitch athlete guy!
jon quinn was his boy too. and to think that was who they picked to replace shoop.
by reefermadness3 on May 15, 2010 12:56 AM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, he brought the not-so-Mighty Quinn with from KC.
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
Everbody's in despair, every girl and boy
But when Quinn the quarterback Eskimo gets here
the despair will multiply exponentially everybody’s gonna jump for joy
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
to me
as a 33 year old bears fan, there is only one answer for me and that is wanny. man did i hate turning on sports sunday on nbc to see what seemed to be way too many lopsided bears losses and wanny babbling away, inspiring even less confidence than a certain current monotonous coach does.
as dvw already said, his mustache is a cheap imitation of da coach also which is grounds for worst coach award unto itself.
by reefermadness3 on May 15, 2010 12:54 AM CDT reply actions
Hang down your head Jim Dooley.
As much as I despise Stuttering Dave, Jim Dooley is the winner hands down. 1-13 in 1969 and then losing the coin flip for the rights to Terry Bradshaw.
Stuttering Dave wasn’t a.bad coach as much as he was a pompous ass. Besides, how could any Bears fan like the man who replaced Da Coach?
Thanks for the lesson in Bears history.
I never knew Terry Bradshaw was a coin flip win away from being a Bear.
nice
that’s a good point to consider
that was the one bears win? funny
by reefermadness3 on May 16, 2010 1:40 AM CDT up reply actions
Dick Jauron
was very Lovie Smithish without the winning. Jauron walked the sideline with a look on his face like he didn’t want to be there. No fire what so ever. The anti-Ditka if you will, and of course that’s a bad thing.
Blashpame
wanny suck massively. the only good game i remember was against the eagles. (yes i know my spelling sucks lol)
Reasonable Criteria?
The Mustache Clause pretty much removes DW from consideration (Coach Ditka made not only the mustache popular, but also sweaters, cigars, Poland, grumpy old men, the Eddie Munster hair style and hip replacement surgery).
Dick Jauron was just a knob, plain and simple. His IQ bars him from any consideration…and also having the name Dick…why not go with Richard or Rich instead?
I gotta go with Abe
There is no "Off Position" for the Genius Switch - David Letterman
lol at anyone
who voted for Lovie.
You're being very Un-Dude right now.
by IslandBoodler87 on May 15, 2010 10:09 AM CDT reply actions
Do you really think
That if Wanstedt (like Lovie) had “fallen” into the Bears’ head coaching job in 2004 or 2005 (just before Urlacher, Harris and Mike Brown were in their primes) that he wouldn’t have ended up “leading” us to the Super Bowl?
Wanny could have gotten here with 2 games left in the 2006 season
and still would have found a way for us to miss the playoffs. That’s how bad of a coach Wanny was.
Adrian Pedestrian!! Now that's funny Mr. Bayless...
lolwut
So inheriting good players and having them play to their potential is what defines a bad coach? Holy smokes.
You're being very Un-Dude right now.
by IslandBoodler87 on May 15, 2010 3:47 PM CDT up reply actions
Wanstedts' teams never had anywhere near the amount of talent that Lovie inherited
And they were all relatively healthy – with the exception of Mike Brown (and they still got 6 games out of him in ‘06). All any coach would’ve had to do was just basically “show up,” Anyone could have gotten to the Super Bowl under those circumstances. Since then, they’ve aged, gotten injured and declined. And Lovie has done nothing to develop new players to take their places and pick up the slack (see our record and # of playoff appearances over the past 3 years). To me, that’s the definition of a mediocre coach, at best.
With the same talent, Wanstedt, Abe Gibron or anyone else could’ve produced the same results. If our record had not declined so steeply, and we had made the playoffs at least 2 or 3 times over the past 3 years, then maybe you could convince me otherwise.
by JimmyMack on May 15, 2010 4:53 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Lovie has done nothing to develop new players to take their places and pick up the slack (see our record and # of playoff appearances over the past 3 years). To me, that’s the definition of a mediocre coach, at best.
This man speaks truth.
"44 years of football history and nothing to show for it. I wish I wasn’t banned at the Norseman.." - tfrabotta
i still think
if 91 didn’t get ruined against the queens that year he would have been wearing a sb41 ring along with the other bears. that d was so damn good up until that point. not 85 bears because only 2000 ravens can get in that discussion but they covered sex cannon’s booboos and then some when tommie was on the field.
by reefermadness3 on May 16, 2010 1:58 AM CDT up reply actions
That's right
I forgot Tommy went down and was out for the season – in week 12, or thereabouts, too. That team was so talented, though, that we still were able to roll into the Super Bowl against the Colts. We also had a younger Chris Harris – who was in his prime, as well. And I think Vasher was healthy, and just coming off of his “Pro Bowl” season. We also had Thomas Jones, who had a good year running the ball. And the O-line was pretty solid, with Reuben Jones and John Tate still playing above average. The only glaring weakness that team had was at QB. Grossman threw something like 20 interceptions that year, and we still won 13 games, I believe.
That team was just “stacked” with talent… And guess what Lovie got after that season? His (now infamous) 5 year, “guarenteed” contract extension. No “options” after 2 or 3 years, but all 5 years – guarenteed. Those contract negotiations could not have come at a better time (for him), of course. And, we all know what happened to Rivera, shortly thereafter…
Even without Harris,
we ran back the opening kickoff for a TD and picked off Manning on his first possession but we still lost. That was a very winnable game against an opponent who wasn’t exactly dominant.
I agree with you, even though I still think Wanny was the worst, Lovie is terrible and the one trip to the SB is buying him way too much forgiveness for what is largely a very mediocre – poor coaching career.
wow
couldn’t of said this better myself.
by Chitownproduct on May 17, 2010 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions
Who should be next coach?
My vote: Brian Schottenheimer
by DaBearsinOklahoma on May 15, 2010 2:17 PM CDT reply actions
I am willing to entertain the Ron Rivera concept.
May the wind be always at your back, and may your placekicker have icewater in his veins.
Worst coach ever
Definitely Wannstedt, that’s for sure. This era came at a time when I was starting high school….and it was no fun waking up every day and hearing bad comment after bad comment about our team…I think we started 0-7 2 years in a row…that right there gets my vote. Jauron wasn’t a bad coach, maybe too loyal to his assistants, but not a bad coach. I’ve said in a previous post here that the ‘01 team is one of my favorites as a fan…because no one thought we wouldn’t finish last and then we shocked the NFL!! I was on Lovie’s side until ’07…it still bothers me that team played like that after such a great year the year before.
Wanny was a wanker
I still remember this kid from junior class in 1998 gave a speech about how bad Wanny sucked and needed to get canned. He had pie graphs, charts, and all types of visual aids.. hilarious.
did your class record these speeches
i would pay to see this, too bad youtube wasn’t around then
by reefermadness3 on May 16, 2010 1:43 AM CDT up reply actions
Thank you '92-98 Chicago Bulls
That’s all I have to say about the Wanny era.
by MetalGearPeaceWalker on May 15, 2010 3:43 PM CDT reply actions
I remember Abe Gibron, and he deserves the stink eye...
…but I picked Lovie, because he has squandered the careers of some pretty talented players. I like what JimmieMack said a little earlier about Lovie – I agree with his rationale for selecting Lovie.
"Do or do not... there is no try." - Yoda
If one does not pick Wannstedt ...
then clearly one is going for sarcasm. If I were the Governor, I wouldn’t allow him into the state under any condition.
"There's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all." -B. Dylan
whats the yard stick?
the best coach the Bears ever had by far was George Halas, Ditka is a distant second and Lovie is Third. Lovie didn’t waste the talent it got hurt ie Brown, Harris, Urlacher, Vasher etc. Our boy Angelo sucks, think what a difference a strong O-line would have meant last year. With the running game grinding out 4 yrds a carry defenses would have put another guy in the box and Cutler would have been more impressive even in Turner’s French Toast Offense. The best way to help a defense is to keep them off the field.
now that I’ve spew’d forth my frustrations, I am really looking forward to this season, a lot of questions, like will adding Peppers be enough to revive our Tampa Two. Can Martz get his offense rolling the first year.
I just don’t want to live through another 1969 the Cubs choked, the Bears went 1-13 and my draft number was 65,
I need to see Doug Atkins on a rampage, Bill Wade throwing those dinky passes to Jimmy Morris, Plank and Fencik high/low a receiver, Dick Butkus hit a running back so hard his helmet flies off, The Fridge score a TD, Sweetness rack up 270 yards against Minnesota, Hester take a kickoff all the way.
by 62bearsthe best on May 17, 2010 12:22 AM CDT reply actions
Where is the "All of the Above" choice?
I DO remember Gidron, I was just a kiddie, but that was when I got hooked. Those Bears fought their arses off every week only to be mismanaged.
Abe was THE abysmal failure. But the NFL was not what it is today. For that matter what is has been since the 80’s. The parity in the league should have given our teams at least a fighting chance.
There for I vote for Whiny Wanny. The mustache criteria is also a contributing factor to his complete uselessness. I give JA crap for poor drafting, but the team Wannstedt left in his wake was deplorable. It took “Back up that’s my Dick Jauron” years to assemble some building blocks of a successful program.
by Suffering from Chicago Sports on May 17, 2010 5:39 PM CDT reply actions
First Post - Here's a link on a wired Abe Gibron.
by BearsCore on May 17, 2010 6:18 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Outstanding first post.
And an amazing find. Abe was a horrible coach, but this warmed me up on him a bit. Funny stuff.
-------
"Newbie, if the next two words out of your mouth aren't 'See ya' then the third word will be 'Oh my god. My crotch. You've punched me in my crotch." - Dr. Percival Ulysses Cox
by David Taylor on May 18, 2010 7:35 AM CDT up reply actions
I thought it was Hilarious!! Had to share.
I have been meaning to join the WCG for about a year, but the poll for Worst Coach finally got me off my keester and I had to respond. I’ve been a Bears fan since ‘76 and remember all the talk about how bad Abe was, so I searched the Google for more information and found it on utube. Incidently, it was Ed McCaskey that called the coin toss after the ’69 season that lost the chance to draft Terry Bradshaw. "An unidentified Chicago sportswriter reportedly yelled out "McCaskey you bum, you can’t even win a coin flip!" "
Link: http://www.bearshistory.com/seasons/1970schicagobears.aspx
"Most important thought, if you love someone, tell him or her, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store." ~ The Great Walter J. Payton.
glad you signed up.
You probably did it the right way though. It’s always good to get a feel for the board, before joining. Looking forward to reading more of your contributions.
-------
"Newbie, if the next two words out of your mouth aren't 'See ya' then the third word will be 'Oh my god. My crotch. You've punched me in my crotch." - Dr. Percival Ulysses Cox
by David Taylor on May 18, 2010 7:43 PM CDT up reply actions
After viewing that
I’ve decided Abe Gibron is the greatest coach in history!
Ausome. Abe is fantastic.
My question is this, are Denver fans really still mad about the Cutler trade or is it actually Abe who they are mad at?
BearNecessities you're my assistant, okay you're supposed to
back me up and go get me juice boxes when I tell you. Now go get me
a juice box.
by Ditkavsworld on May 18, 2010 4:44 PM CDT up reply actions
this "ausome" thing...
is gonna stick, isn’t it?
-------
"Newbie, if the next two words out of your mouth aren't 'See ya' then the third word will be 'Oh my god. My crotch. You've punched me in my crotch." - Dr. Percival Ulysses Cox
by David Taylor on May 18, 2010 7:43 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah I think it's gonna catch on.
BearNecessities you're my assistant, okay you're supposed to
back me up and go get me juice boxes when I tell you. Now go get me
a juice box.
by Ditkavsworld on May 19, 2010 5:09 AM CDT up reply actions
Wanny was the perfect storm
Everything from that era was just . . . bad. 1993-95 were tolerable, but it was all downhill from there, as the final players from the ‘85 team left, and horrid draft choices and misguided free agent signings, combined with a coach who is just plain not a leader in the locker room, just caused the Bears to go downhill. Those who’ve paid attention to recent Dolphins history will note that Wanny being with the Dolphins had much the same effect, a couple of decent early years ending in total freefall.
The fact that I became a Bears fan during the Wanny years is nothing short of a miracle.
And after experiencing Wanny, the next two coaches to follow, Jauron and Smith, look like geniuses.
Abe Gibron
The face that lunched a thousand shrimps!
by steveinseminole on May 18, 2010 1:42 PM CDT reply actions
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