Robbie Gould on 2012 Bears: 'They should have kept Lovie'
Robbie Gould on 2012 Bears: 'They should have kept Lovie' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
After a 10-6 season in 2012 – in which the Bears ended 3-5 in their last eight games of the regular season – the Bears decided to fire head coach Lovie Smith.
Smith, by that time, had coached nine seasons with the Bears. Under his control, the Bears made the playoffs three times, including appearances in the NFC championship and Super Bowl. The Bears held a winning record in five of the nine seasons they had Smith as a coach. They also had a top-five defense in the league five times, including the No. 1 defense in 2005.
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Marc Trestman, only known for his accolades as a head coach in the Canadian Football League, was hired by the Bears as Smith's successor. He lasted two seasons before the Bears relieved him of his duties for John Fox.
Kicker Robbie Gould was a part of Smith's long-tenured, yet quick demise, in the early 2000s. And he, like everyone else, knows Smith's firing and Trestman's hiring was not the correct move following the 2012 season.
"I think everyone would know that that wasn't the best hire for the team at the time, especially with that core who was an older core for sure," Gould said on ESPN 1000. "But I think the respect and admiration that every team had for Lovie Smith, we knew that. Because we had won the NFC in 2006 to the Super Bowl and then didn't go back until 2010. And then we started out really hot. I think we were 8-1, finished the season 10-6 missed the playoffs.
"Yes, they should have kept Lovie, there is no doubt about it. But I think there are times when you want to do things as a coach because you have a vision that you're going to get over the hump. But sometimes that vision doesn't match what the ultimate crystal ball of ownership is going to be.
"So for me, like as a player, hey, if you're going to fire that guy in Lovie Smith, you better replace them with that next guy who's better culturally, who's better as a football coach, even though you had Jay Cutler in the building and you're trying to go with the offense. Right?"
Wrong. The Bears went with the unfortunate hire of Trestman, who quickly proved he wasn't ready to step into the likes of becoming a head coach.
The Bears went 8-8 during his first season before worsening the following year, going 5-11. They had the second-best offense in the NFL during his first season, with the likes of Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Alshon Jeffrey and Brandon Marshall.
But their uncanny 30th-ranked defense proved detrimental to any success they thought of having.
One idea that has surfaced, semi-recently, is the Bears' shoulda-woulda-coulda of not hiring Bruce Arians. Back when Smith was fired, the Bears interviewed the Super Bowl-winning coach for the position but opted for Trestman instead.
Since then, Arians helped skyrocket the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into one Super Bowl trophy and two playoff appearances. Before then, Arians also helped the Arizona Cardinals into the NFC championship in 2015, coaching them for five seasons.
Gould knows things would have been different if the Bears went with Arians.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure it would have been different. There's no doubt about it," Gould said.
