Bears fire coach Lovie Smith after nine seasons

Lovie Smith runs off the field Sunday in his last game as Bears head coach. (US Presswire)

Lovie Smith coached half a Chicago Bears team for nine seasons, and as a result he was fired Monday by general manager Phil Emery.

The Bears failed to make the playoffs five of the last six years. Despite forcing 44 turnovers and coming within a touchdown of tying an NFL record for defensive TDs, Smith's team never managed to figure it out on offense. Only once during Smith's tenure did the Bears rank higher than 23rd on offense and even the addition of QB Jay Cutler in 2009 and WR Brandon Marshall this year could not change this. The Bears ranked 28th this season on offense.

Smith went through four offensive coordinators: Terry Shea, Ron Turner, Mike Martz, and Mike Tice. The only time the Bears ranked higher than 23rd was in 2006, when they made the Super Bowl.

Emery was hired last year and with that came the expectation that he would  want his own coach. However, he had worked for the Bears when Smith was first hired as head coach.  Emery had said Smith's job security depended on whether he thought the team was progressing. The Bears finished 10-6, two games better than last year, but missing the playoffs after a 7-1 start -- and becoming the first team to do this since 1996 -- paved the way to the firing.

Also weighing heavily against Smith was the team's eight losses in nine games against their rival, the Green Bay Packers. Smith came to Chicago saying he knew how to beat the Packers.

Smith finished with an 81-63 record in Chicago, including three division titles (2005, '06, '10), one Super Bowl berth and a 3-3 record in the playoffs.

He had one year left on his contract at about $5.5 million.
 
Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSBears.