Bears Making Moves

In the wake of an incredibly disappointing season, the Bears have let nearly every offensive coach go. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner, as we passed along earlier today with the news that head coach Lovie Smith will be retained, has been fired. He wasn't alone, however, because most of his staff is hitting the road with him.

Via press release, the Bears announced that tight ends coach Rob Boras, offensive assistant/assistant offensive line coach Luke Butkus, quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and offensive assistant/assistant wide receivers coach Charles London have been relieved of their respective duties. That leaves only Tim Spencer (running backs) and Darryl Drake (wide receivers) left as offensive coaches, which means the new offensive coordinator will likely have a large hand in choosing his staff as Smith and new defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli stick to their side of the ball.

The biggest task for the new hire will be to find a way to hone in Jay Cutler. Cutler led the NFL in interceptions this past season with 26. His talent, however, is unmistakable. He set several team records and approached some others. His eight touchdowns and one interception in the final two games can be taken as a step in the right direction, though it's still a pretty small sample and the Week 17 opponent was the lowly Lions. The new coordinator and quarterbacks coach will need to work with Cutler on his leadership and decision-making while also finding ways to best utilize his talent (for example, he works best when rolling out of the pocket and Turner rarely did this with him).

Of course, Cutler's far from the only offensive priority. The running game was stagnant, the offensive line was brutal until the final two weeks and the receivers are still incredibly inexperienced. The new coordinator has a pretty big project in front of him, whoever he may eventually be.

One name we're bound to hear quite frequently in the upcoming weeks -- or however long it is until the Bears fire a new offensive boss -- is Charlie Weis. He's reportedly already said he wouldn't mind working for the Bears and he has Midwestern ties and he has a really solid track record with quarterbacks. Mike Martz's name has also been tossed around in Chicago, due to his history with Lovie Smith (he was the head coach in St. Louis when Smith was defensive coordinator).

Neither would be surprising, nor would an unknown. It's difficult to tell which route the Bears will take because they haven't yet had much chance to look. They are a pretty cheap franchise, historically -- which could preclude a run at either Weis or Martz -- but they also might be desperate to make a big splash and save face after the 2009 season fell so drastically short of expectations.