Baffoe: Dear John… I Mean Lovie
By Tim Baffoe-
(CBS) Dear Lovie,
Well, this is never easy. Look, I think you're a great guy. I do, really. Nine years! That's a hell of a run. But it's time.
I was willing to give you another year, actually, but really we both saw the writing on the wall. New GM, fans who largely can't stand you, you've lost all your hair. Moving on just seems right.
It's not you, it's me. I've just evolved. I'm more offense-oriented. The defensive touchdowns and nose for the ball stuff was great, but I just think I've grown and need a coach willing to embrace a dynamic me. Getting off the bus running and carving up the season into quarters and telling me how you won this quarter but not that one was fun for a while, but I need more.
Wait. I guess it is you.
To be honest, I was vulnerable coming off that stretch with Dick Jauron. Can you blame me? Your talk of beating the Packers as a top priority swept me off my feet back then. And then you actually went out and beat the Packers! That definitely won over my grandma, I can tell you. But then you stopped beating the Packers. You stopped being that Lovie I knew last decade.
And actually, I've grown to realize that it shouldn't even be about the Packers. Beating them is no more important than beating the Lions and Vikings. I'm not with that 2-and-14 crowd of delusional fans whose entire season culminates on "Packer Week." The Packers aren't some grand boogie man, and beating them doesn't validate a season. They're a well-run organization and a division opponent. Beating them gives the Bears an advantage in division position. It doesn't score any extra points in the overall scheme of things, though. See where we've grown apart?
After a while I just couldn't stand those offensive coordinators you were always hanging around with. The Bears averaged the second-lowest total yardage per game in the league since 2004. Mike Tice seems like a nice enough fellow, but 28th in the league in total offense with Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Matt Forte is just uncalled for, bad offensive line or not. And how many times did I have to tell you to stop hanging around with that Martz guy before you finally listened? In the end a lot of this between you and me comes down to a communication breakdown, and no healthy relationship can function that way.
I know, I know. You'll deny that and brush it off in your typical Lovie way and try to feed me your usual lines—"we need to get better," "we have to go back and look at the tape," "_____ is our quarterback." I just couldn't see much football left to go between us anymore. Your stubbornness became a problem, and I'm done defending you to my reporter friends that you treat so unfairly.
Despite how you probably think I'm wrong, one thing really lets me know I'm making the right choice here—Mike Ditka is against it. That same caricature Mike Ditka who hasn't had his finger on the pulse of Chicago in years. This Ditka.
I'm confident you'll be employed in the NFL quite soon. You're going to make some other team very happy. It wouldn't surprise me to run into you in the playoffs, and I hope we can be cordial with each other if that happens.
I don't know where I'll go from here. A short time alone is probably best, and I hope to meet a coach that either understands where football is going in 2013 or sure as hell at least is willing to adapt to it. That likely means a guy with an offensive mindset. Defense is important and what the Bears have long been identified with, but in reality, they've also been identified with failure for a long time, too.
It's time for a change. For you and me. Good luck. We'll always have that Cardinals game. LOL! ;)
Sincerely,
Chicago
Tim Baffoe attended the University of Iowa and Governors State University and began blogging at The Score after winning the 2011 Pepsi Max Score Search. He enjoys writing things about stuff, but not so much stuff about things. When not writing for 670TheScore.com, Tim corrupts America's youth as a high school English teacher and provides a great service to his South Side community delivering pizzas (please tip him and his colleagues well). You can follow Tim's inappropriate brain droppings on Twitter @Ten_Foot_Midget , but please don't follow him in real life. He grew up in Chicago's Beverly To read more of Tim's blogs click here.
