With the Blackhawks being the only team in Chicago with a realistic chance of winning a championship this year, a lot of frustration has been directed at the jobs of Vinny Del Negro of the Bulls and Lovie Smith of the Bears. They do deserve most of the criticism that is being thrown at them, both with somewhat talented teams that so far have underachieved to this point. But Chicago is a city that likes to blame the coach first instead of taking a deeper look into the problem and discover who is more deserving of the blame. Well let's take a look at that now for both the Bulls and the Bears:
Bear fans have had a lot of time this season to figure out who to blame for this dismal season, and for the most part it is being shared equally amongst the coaches and Jerry Angelo, the General Manager. Some fans will point to Jay Cutler being a source of the problem but I'm sorry, you don't go from being a quarterback throwing for 4,000 yards to a guy leading the league in interceptions unless there is a significant problem with the coaching staff. That being said, Cutler also doesn't have the time nor the weapons necessary to make plays and that falls on the general manager. In this instance you can't fire one without firing the other, both Smith and Angelo have failed to get this team back to the Super Bowl and have fallen so far from that level that change is definitely needed. The need for change is even greater with coaches like, Bill Cowher and Mike Shanahan out there who are proven winners and can get this historic franchise back on its feet. If ownership wants to go cheap and hire another promising assistant then at least make sure you bring in an offensive coordinator like Charlie Weis who can help develop Jay Cutler and build a dynamic offense that many Bear fans imagined with the acquisition of Cutler.
As for the Bulls, it is easy to blame Del Negro for the poor job the Bulls have done to this point of the season, especially after that thrilling playoff series with the Boston Celtics last season. With that in mind, Bulls fans should realize that Del Negro has been playing a very short bench with injuries to Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Hinrich who has recently returned. A lot of fans are worried that if the team continues to struggle then none of the big free agents of next year's class will want to come to Chicago. The truth is, if one of those big name players like LeBron or Wade want to come to Chicago, you can guarantee that the front office won't let the coaching situation be the reason they don't come to play for the Bulls. Bulls fans need to give Del Negro more of an opportunity to prove himself as a coach with a healthy team. It's amazing what one or two superstar players can do for a coach's job security, look at Doc Rivers in Boston before they got Garnett and Allen, do you think all of sudden he became this great coach? Not a chance, he got incredible talent to work with and it made his job much easier. Del Negro has a team that is still relatively young and inexperienced without much size, many coaches would struggle in that scenario and add in the number of injuries this team has faced, not many coaches would survive. But give Del Negro a shot, his teams have shown flashes stemming from last year's playoff series to different points this season.
Both teams are in similar circumstances but both should be handled differently. It's frustrating for both teams, but a lot can change in a couple years if things are handled correctly. Just look at the Blackhawks, the reason for hope in Chicago sports.
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