Give me just a one more last chance
Before you say we're through
I know I drive you crazy baby
It's the best that I can do
We're just some good ol' boys, a makin' noise
I ain't a runnin' 'round on you
Give me just a one more last chance
Before you say we're through
Vince Gill-One More Last Chance

There was little suspense yesterday from Halas Hall.  Just business as usual.  Sure, most of the offensive staff lost their jobs yesterday, but the real perpetrators of the 7-9 season got to address the media at the podium yesterday, full of hope that they have indeed fixed the problems.

Of course, they haven't.  But that didn't stop Ted Phillips, Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith from trying to convince you that they did.

Phillips, an accountant by trade and as qualified to evaluate a football team as Paris Hilton, tried to appeal to the fans.  He instead came off like an inept high school principal trying to explain why recess got canceled.  "“We haven’t had any playoffs for three straight years, so status quo was not an option, and changes were necessary.  For the last three years, it’s been clear that no one did a good enough job in this organization."  STOP TAPE.  If no one has done the job in three years, doesn't it make sense that EVERYONE should be held accountable and not just a couple of coaches?

Phillips, who rambled on way too long, went on to say "What we are committed to is putting a winning team together in 2010. That’s our goal. I know some may disagree, but I believe that the fastest way to improve is to keep the continuity that we’ve had with both Jerry Angelo as our general manager and Lovie Smith as our head coach.”  So, Phillips is stating the obvious, that burning it down completely would have only impeded the progress for 2010.  But riddle me this, bean counter boy.  Don't you think that a new offensive staff, with a new system and new terminology is going to need a season to take?  Devin Hester has been in the same system for three years and he can't figure it out yet, what makes you think he';s going to grasp this one quickly enough  to save everyone's ass?

Then came Angelo, who proclaimed that he was happy with his roster and the talent was there.  It was obviously the same cup of kool-aid that he served Phillips and the McCaskey family  except the media wasn't drinking it.  Angelo said sixty-two slots on the eighty man roster are already filled. But if you look at who is filling them, you know that there was no lesson learned here.

So let's review.  Phillips passes the buck to Angelo and Smith by saying they deserve another shot.  Angelo passes the buck to Smith by claiming there is nothing wrong with the "talent" he's assembled and Smith passes the buck by blowing out Turner and most of the offensive staff and firing himself as defensive coordinator.  And so it goes.

Obviously, in the Bears organization, accountability is not a metric.  If the fish rots from the head, then why didn't they sever the head?  Instead, they just cut off the tail and are allowing the fish to continue to flop around.

Where do we go from here?  I loved Angelo's statement that they wouldn't have to look for coaches, that coaches would be calling them because "we're in Chicago and because we have a lot of great tradition here."  Maybe that was true in 1987, Jerry, but it sure isn't true now.  The only coaches who will be calling you are coaches no one else whats to hire, like Mike Martz.  No one wants to join the band on the Titanic after it's hit the iceberg.

The beat goes in for the Chicago Bears.  From the owners not willing to part with money they invested in their GM and coach to the bean counter who runs the organization, one thing was made clear yesterday: The guy who got the best deal was Ron Turner. At least he won't have to deal with it anymore.