Smith's project: turning around Bears

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Now that he's turned around the St. Louis Rams' defense, Lovie Smith is taking on the Chicago Bears.\nSmith was hired Wednesday as the Bears new head coach, agreeing to a four-year deal. He replaces Dick Jauron, who was fired Dec. 29.\nSmith will be introduced at a news conference Thursday. He was in St. Louis on Wednesday and unavailable for comment.\n"There's a position right for everyone," he said Tuesday when he came to Halas Hall for his second interview. "And I'm hoping this position is what is right for me."\nThe Bears hope so, too. Team founder George "Papa Bear" Halas helped create the NFL, and some of the game's greatest players once wore the Bears uniform.\nChicago has been more of a laughingstock than a leader in recent years, though. The Bears have had just one winning season in the last eight years, and haven't won a playoff game since 1995. Smith will be the team's third coach in six years -- fourth if you count that botched attempt to hire Dave McGinnis in 1999.\nBut Smith is confident he can make the Bears winners again.\n"Tough, hard-nosed football, that's what Chicago football is all about," he said. "That's what I've seen at times. The consistency probably wasn't there. That's why probably the coaching change was made.\n"I think they can win," he said. "They just need a little boost, just a little bit more energy, a change of scenery. That's what I think I can bring."\nSmith was the defensive coordinator in St. Louis the past three seasons. The Rams had one of the NFL's worst defenses when Smith arrived, allowing a whopping 471 points in 2000.\nOne year later, the Rams were the league's third-best defense, giving up 273 points -- a 198-point reduction -- on their way to the \nSuper Bowl.\nThe Rams were 16th in the NFL this season, allowing 315.8 yards per game. But their 46 takeaways led the league, and they had four players -- yes, four -- with four interceptions.\nLeonard Little also had 12 1/2 sacks, third-best in the NFC.\n"It's a terrific opportunity for Lovie," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "I'm excited for Lovie, and I'm also excited for the Bears' organization. I'm not sure they fully realize the quality individual and the professional they are getting. They will soon realize that and fully appreciate it."\nThe Bears named Smith and Pittsburgh offensive line coach Russ Grimm finalists for the job after front-runner Nick Saban turned them down last weekend. General manager Jerry Angelo also interviewed New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and Jim Mora Jr., who later took the Atlanta job.\nGrimm had an impressive playing career, winning three Super Bowls as part of the Washington Redskins' famed "Hogs" line. But he lacked experience, never having been a coordinator.\nSmith, on the other hand, has had just about every coaching job imaginable. Before going to the Rams, he spent five years as linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.\nIt was in Tampa Bay that Smith first met Angelo, then the Buccaneers' player personnel director.\nSmith also was a college coach for 13 years. He began his career in 1980 at his alma mater, Big Sandy (Texas) High School, after playing defensive back at Tulsa.\n"I've gone through the proper channels to be a head football coach," Smith said. "To me, this is a normal progress of a coach in the league, and the next step is being a head football coach. I've been successful on all those different stages and am excited about the next step."\nSmith is the first black head coach in Bears history. He's also the fifth black head coach in the league, joining Dennis Green, hired two weeks ago by Arizona; Herman Edwards of the New York Jets; Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati; and Tony Dungy of Indianapolis. There have never been more than three black head coaches in a season before.\nLast season, under pressure from a group headed by lawyers Johnnie Cochran Jr. and Cyrus Mehri, the league instituted guidelines that require teams with vacancies to interview minorities.\nOne of Smith's priorities will be to revive the Bears' sputtering offense. Though Smith's background is on defense, he said he has picked up plenty of ideas from watching different offenses over the years.\nHe has already said he will run an offense similar to St. Louis' high-powered scheme.\n"All the qualities that make him an exceptional coordinator will also make him an exceptional head coach," Martz said, "with his leadership and knowledge of the game and his ability to communicate with the players"