The Chicago Bears are a bad football team. A former middle linebacker for the Bears (and a future Hall of Famer), Brian Urlacher, can explain why.
As Urlacher told CBS Sports Radio's Tiki and Tierney last week, the Bears are suffering from the Love Smith Curse.
"I like to say it's the Lovie Curse -- because since he left, (the Bears have struggled)," Urlacher said. "He got fired being 10-6. I think they fire him either way. Even if we go to the playoffs, I think they fire him. I don't think the GM liked the way he coached the football team. The guy's a winner. I love playing for him. I don't know what the identity of that team is. They sign (Mike) Glennon, then they draft a kid No. 2 -- I don't know what (they're doing). It's confusing."
Urlacher isn't totally wrong. Under Smith (now the coach at Illinois), the Bears won 56.3 percent of their games, went to the postseason three times in nine seasons, and journeyed all the way to the Super Bowl once. Since the Bears fired Smith after a 10-win season in 2012, they've gone 22-42.
But the real reason behind the Bears' demise is years of bad drafting that began during the Smith era. Here's a list of their top draft picks from 2008-2015:
- 2008: Offensive lineman Chris Williams (bust)
- 2009: Defensive tackle Jarron Gilbert (third-round pick)
- 2010: Safety Major Wright (third-round pick)
- 2011: Offensive lineman Gabe Carimi (bust)
- 2012: Pass rusher Shea McClellin (bust)
- 2013: Guard Kyle Long (stud)
- 2014: Cornerback Kyle Fuller (not looking good)
- 2015: Receiver Kevin White (four games in two years)
The Bears got bad all of a sudden after a strong showing during the Smith era because they failed to replace their aging stars like Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman. When the roster aged and draft picks flopped, the Bears nosedived.
But the Bears won't be bad forever. Ryan Pace, who became the Bears' general manager in 2015, hit on a few draft picks in recent years. Cody Whitehair is coming off a remarkably successful rookie year at center. Jordan Howard finished second in the league in rushing in his rookie season. And Leonard Floyd racked up seven sacks last year.
Really, the Bears' success will ultimately come down to Mitchell Trubisky, the quarterback the Bears felt so strongly about they traded up one spot to draft him this year. If Trubisky proves to be worth the cost, the Bears will become relevant again. If he flops, the Bears will have dug quite the hole for themselves considering they gave up multiple draft picks to get him.
The funny thing is, as Urlacher alluded to, we might not even get to see Trubisky play meaningful football this year because the Bears signed Mike Glennon in free agency and have repeatedly maintained that Glennon -- not Trubisky -- is the starting quarterback for the upcoming season.
As Urlacher said, it's confusing. The Bears should let Trubisky compete with Glennon and let the best man win.