Chicago Bears: 3 Reasons to bring Lovie Smith back as DC

3. Smith’s reputation among players and the league

With recent Chicago head coaches like Nagy, John Fox or Marc Trestman, fans have grown accustomed to wishy-washy answers. One thing Smith was not known for was beating around the bush. He was a player’s coach who, although soft-spoken, told it like it was.

Remember all of the questions asked about Rex Grossman back in the day? Say what you will about Grossman, but Smith never wavered. If he was asked anything about the quarterback position, and he had already planned to start Grossman, his answer was as follows: Rex is our quarterback.

That was it. There was no further explanation. Smith gave you the answer, point blank, and that’s respectable.

Going back to the player’s coach facet of his style, Smith leaves an imprint on his guys when they either change teams or retire from the game or if Smith leaves the program. When he left the Bears, there was a story that came out about Devin Hester being questioned at his locker the day Lovie was fired.

He didn’t want to speak to reporters. Instead, he was hunched over, sobbing, because that’s just how close he and Smith had become. Smith was like a father figure to many of his guys in Chicago. He’s loyal, straight forward and loves his guys. That’s who he is.

His personality type would be welcomed back on the Bears, not only by the defense, but I’m sure the entire locker room.