It’s universally understood that when a coaching change is made, change is inevitable, the extent of that change is unpredictable, and often those changes are welcomed. New coaches are usually granted what is commonly called a “honeymoon period,” during which some poor play from the team will be tolerated.

After a somewhat protracted coaching search in January 2004, during which Bears General Manager Jerry Angelo traveled coast-to-coast to offer the job to two men that turned him down, the Bears hired Lovie Smith as the 13th head coach in their history on January 15th.

Being that Smith is a career defensive coach, many could have expected his defenders to mold more quickly than the offense, much as Dave Wannstedt’s first team did in 1993. However, none could have predicted the Bears would finish dead last in eight offensive categories in the NFL. Thus the epilogue for Smith’s first season as an NFL head coach is an offensive offense. “No offense to Bears fans” might be a fitting headline with a dual meaning.

Given the Bears’ history of being the final team to complete their coaching search, Smith went to work quickly in January to find his coordinators and assistants. First to be hired was Ron Rivera as defensive coordinator. Rivera was a 1985 Bear, played for the team from 1984-1992, and was at the time serving as linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. The hire was made after Tampa would not release Smith’s top choice, their defensive line coach Rod Marinelli. Rivera promised to bring his own blitz-heavy philosophy back to the Bears, in addition to implementing the cover-2 scheme Smith had taught in St. Louis when he was their defensive coordinator.

On the offense, Smith looked to find a coordinator that would implement a hybrid St. Louis/Kansas City attack, as he promised to bring with him at his interview with the Bears. His top choice-who held out for more money and delayed the process-was Terry Shea, former college head coach and current quarterbacks coach at Kansas City. Shea finally agreed to terms in late January, and may have needed a Ryder truck to bring his playbook into Halas Hall shortly thereafter. Shea promised the press and fans that his attack would stretch the field, something that audience felt his predecessor John Shoop had not done.

Along with playing much cover-2 and reintroducing the blitz to Chicago, Smith’s defense also required a different type of defensive lineman. Smith’s predecessor, Greg Blache, made a profound statement when he said “sacks don’t matter,” and his line was built to reflect that. Instead of sleek, fast linemen, the line the new coach inherited was designed to stop the run first and contain the quarterback at the expense of pressuring him. The new scheme would require slimmer, faster linemen that would play a “one gap” scheme, instead of one that tied up linemen to allow linebackers to make plays. In fact, the new “Lovie Ball” defense would encourage all defenders to get up the field to the ballcarrier.

During the free agency period in February, the Bears struck quickly to arm Shea with the offensive players he would need in his scheme. First signed were running back Thomas Jones from Tampa, and backup quarterback Jonathan Quinn from Kansas City. Jones had the breakaway speed Shea needed in his system, and the offensive coordinator assured his bosses that Quinn would not only help teach his system, but be a reliable backup if need be. After waiting a week for the Chiefs to decide not to match the Bears’ $33 million offer, Chicago acquired right tackle John Tait. This money was steep for a right tackle, but Shea claimed in his system “two left tackles were needed.” Last to be picked up were fullback Bryan Johnson in a trade with Washington, and all-pro guard Ruben Brown.

To the end of acquiring a new breed of linemen, the Bears first cut end Phillip Daniels and later tackle Bryan Robinson. In the April draft-which fell perfectly for the Bears,-the top tackle in the draft fell into their laps. Tommie Harris of Oklahoma, predicted to be selected in the top 10, was available to the Bears at 14. Chicago jumped on him and surprised some by selecting another tackle, Washington’s Terry “Tank” Johnson, in the second round. In the third they selected receiver Bernard Berrian from Fresno State, the fourth cornerback Nathan Vasher from Texas, and Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel in the fifth. Two draft choices-fourth round linebacker Leon Joe and fifth round defensive end Claude Harriot did not make the team.

Through a series of extra minicamps and “organized team activities”, Bear players were conditioned as many of them admitted they never had been in their lives. Smith’s staff set weight-loss goals for virtually every player, to which most of them complied. Star linebacker Brian Urlacher even trained in the mountains of Nevada to condition and meet his goal.

In an ominous sign of what would befall the Bears during the 2004 season, in the first no-contact practice of that season’s training camp, Urlacher badly pulled a hamstring, and it was announced he would be out at least through the preseason. Angelo piqued the interest of the media when he proclaimed “we’ll be OK without Brian for some time.” Urlacher’s hamstring injury was the first but certainly not the last during camp; almost a score of players hurt that muscle, calling into question Smith’s weight loss regime as a possible contributor. Cornerback and Pro Bowl kick returner Jerry Azumah was also lost early in the preseason to a neck injury, for which he underwent surgery.

In the preseason, the Bears finished 2-2, winning the first duo and losing the last. What mainly stood out was Shea’s offense, which did indeed move down the field at will. Running back Jones showed speed and cutback ability not present in Illinois since Neal Anderson’s career. Aside from the aforementioned training camp injuries, the Bears left the preseason without any more significant health setbacks.

Prior to the second preseason game, Chicago also pulled a stunning trade, something the club is not known for doing. Throughout the afternoon of August 21st, unbeknownst to those attending the contest, Angelo was negotiating with the Miami Dolphins and the agent for defensive end Adwale Ogunleye on a contract. When the numbers finally were met with agreement, the Bears sent their best wide receiver-Marty Booker-and a third round draft pick to Miami to make the Nigerian royal a new Bear. “Wale” as he was known led the AFC in sacks in 2003 and it was believed he would bring a needed pass rush with him to Chicago.

On September 12th, a blazing hot day on Chicago’s lakefront, the Bears opened Smith’s rookie season facing the Detroit Lions. The matchup was noteable for several reasons, first being that the visitors had lost an NFL-record 24 straight games on the road. Also interesting was Dick Jauron’s visit back to the city in which he coached for five years. In this opener, Rex Grossman looked sharp and indeed a good 2003 first-rounder. He threw for 227 yards, while even more significantly David Terrell caught 5 passes for 126 of the yards. Thomas Jones rushed for two touchdowns, the defense held Detroit to 262 yards, but due to turnovers and a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, the Bears lost 20-16. Grossman had his team in the red zone with seconds left, but threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted.

Overall the team was positive in that Urlacher had returned from his injury, and the first victory simply slipped through their hands.

In week two, it would be hard for one to imagine any more pressure being placed squarely on the shoulders of Smith. The Bears faced a game at Green Bay against the Packers, who had beaten them seven times straight. Just minutes into his introduction as coach, Smith declared his number one goal was to beat the Packers, to the chagrin of the media and fans.

On that September 19th, the Packers jumped out to a 3-0 lead until the Bears scored to make it 7-3 in the second period. With less than two minutes remaining, Green Bay looked as if they would make it a 10-3 game with the ball inside the Bears’ 20. So many times over the past decade the Bears had led Green Bay only to lose. Then suddenly, as Packer running back Amhan Green carried toward the goal line, Urlacher applied a hit, knocking the ball loose. Sprinting safety Mike Brown snared the ball and raced 95 yards for a touchdown, making the score 14-3 at the half.

The Bears would not look back in the Packer game, winning 21-10. They had achieved their top goal for the season, but hauntingly lost Brown for the season with an Achilles tear. Also lost for much of the rest of the campaign was cornerback Charles Tillman with a knee injury. To top it off, Urlacher aggravated his injured hamstring and would miss the next two games.

Those next two games were against offensive powerhouses Minnesota and Philadelphia, which the Bears would play with backups at cornerback, safety and middle linebacker. The results of both games were losses.

In that September 26th game at Minnesota, the Bears played remarkably close, losing 26-22. On their final touchdown of that game, the wheels officially came off the 2004 campaign. As quarterback Grossman was diving for the end zone on the Metrodome field turf, he heard as he described an “ugly, sickening pop,” as his knee ligaments went out.

Grossman’s injury signaled perhaps the most comical parade of backup quarterbacks in Bears, if not NFL, history. This is including the Bears’ 1984 season. The team would start three more quarterbacks before the year was out, never finding one that could consistently run Shea’s offense.

They started with Shea’s man-Jonathan Quinn-who was rarely able to throw the ball near a Chicago receiver, let alone complete passes. Quinn lost starts against Philadelphia, Washington and at Tampa, all fairly winnable games thanks to great defensive performances. The season turned slightly when on Halloween night rookie Craig Krenzel started against the bottom-dwelling San Francisco 49ers. Krenzel’s first pass of the night floated perfectly into the hands of rookie Bernard Berrian for a touchdown, then later rookie Nathan Vasher returned an interception for a touchdown to seal the win.

What followed were an improbable two more victories at New York (Giants) and Tennessee. In the Giant game, defensive end Alex Brown recorded four sacks, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. The following game, the Bears fittingly won 19-17 on a safety in overtime. Krenzel was playing competently but not good, as in the Titan game the offense managed only 176 yards. The defense and special teams accounted for 16 of the teams’ 19 points.

Following the Tennessee win the Bears were again without Urlacher, as he nearly lost his leg after being kicked late in the game. After emergency surgery, he would play in just one more game in the campaign. Urlacher’s presence was sorely needed November 21st against the top-ranked Indianapolis Colts, when the Bears were blown out 41-10.

Thanksgiving day the Bears made their return to holiday football for the first time since 1999, and were embarrassed 21-7 by the Dallas Cowboys. The Bears wore orange uniforms claiming to be from 1946, even though they were a composite of jersey, pants and helmets from 1935 through 2004. Krenzel injured his shoulder and Quinn entered to ensure no one in Chicago would watch the completion of the game.

In one final bright spot for 2004, new quarterback Chad Hutchinson started the next week against the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings. Hutchinson threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears upset the Vikings 24-14.

Hutchinson was serviceable at the quarterback position the rest of the year, but the Bears lost their final four games to finish 5-11, despite being in playoff contention as late as Thanksgiving. Two days after the season was over, coordinator Shea was fired, obviously taking the fall for his unit that led the league in finishing last, committing penalties, and giving up sacks.

Quote of the Year: "Our number one goal....the number one goal we'll have.....is to beat the Green Bay Packers."  -Head Coach Lovie Smith at his introductory press conference, before clarifying that was the first step to the Super Bowl.  He did not mean that beating the Packers was more important than winning a championship.

2004 Records: Preseason 2-2, Regular Season 5-11

2004 NFL Rankings: Offense 32nd Overall, 25th Rush, 32nd Pass; Defense 21st Overall, 25th Rush, 15th Pass

2004 Coaches: Lovie Smith, Head Coach; Ron Rivera, Defensive Coordinator; Terry Shea, Offensive Coordinator

Qasim Mitchell and Terry Shea

Two men that the Chicago Bears faithful hoped would prove to be refreshing solutions to age-old Chicago Bear problems turned out to be duds in 2004.  One was a coach, one a player.

Bears GM Jerry Angelo has consistently hit on players in his reign, and he hoped to have hit on another when his team signed tackle Qasim Mitchell from Cleveland's practice squad.  Mitchell had actually been ranked as the sixth-best guard in the 2002 NFL draft, but was undrafted.

Smith felt Mitchell had prototypical NFL left tackle skills, and he started there for 14 games of the 2004 season.  But his play was borderline thoughout the season, and he would eventually be released in early 2006.  Ironically, Mitchell was only forced to play due to 2002 first-rounder Marc Colombo's inability to come back from a devastating knee injury.

Elsewhere on offense, hoping to erase a frustrating history with John Shoop, the Bears made a splash by hiring Al Saunders disciple Terry Shea as their new offensive boss.

Shea quickly announced his offense's goal would be to score a lot of points, an unintended jab at Shoop, who seemed to prefer to punt to gain better field position as his goal.

Shea's offense certainly looked different than his predecessor's, and his offense generated almost 20 points per game in three contests under Grossman.  But after Grossman's season-ending injury, his unit and system was dead in the water. 

Shea was fired just days after the 2004 season ended.  Thus again in 2005 the team would look for solutions at left tackle and offensive coordinator. 

Lovie Smith was hired as the 13th head coach of the Chicago Bears on January 15, 2004.  He hired former Bear player Ron Rivera to be his defensive coordinator.  On the offensive side, Smith wished to emulate the high-powered offense run by his former team, the St. Louis Rams, with a Kansas City influence.  To this end, he hired Chiefs QB coach Terry Shea to be his offensive coordinator.  Shea recommended that Smith should sign Chief third-string QB Jonathan Quinn to back up Rex Grossman and help guide Bears players during installation of the new offense.  In mini-camps and offseason activities, Smith urged every player to drop weight and become faster.  The players did become faster, and also suffered more serious pulled hamstrings than during any other season.  Before sunrise on the opening day of free agency, GM Jerry Angelo made two signings, running back Thomas Jones from Tampa and quarterback Quinn, from the Chiefs.  They also signed restricted free agent tackle John Tait from the Chiefs, and gained him a week later when Kansas City declined to match the offer.  Prior to the 2004 draft, experts had the Chicago Bears leaning toward taking Wisconsin wide receiver Lee Evans, Oklahoma defensive tackle Tommie Harris, Miami defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, Ohio State defensive end Will Smith, or USC end Kenechi Udeze with their first-round pick. Among the tackles, Wilfork was dominant in college while Harris was accused of being manhandled in big games. But Harris, at around 300 pounds versus Wilfork's 340-plus, was considered to be more of a fit for new head coach Lovie Smith's three-technique scheme. It was thought, however, that Harris would be long gone by the Bears' 14th pick, most likely to be taken by either Atlanta or Houston. When Atlanta took cornerback DeAngelo Hall and Houston followed with corner Dunta Robinson, Harris fell into Chicago's lap. As of 2007 by far Harris has been the best pro of the bunch, and arguably could be ranked with the top picks overall of that draft class.  Notable trades are very uncommon in the NFL these days, so the Bears truly pulled off a blockbuster when during the preseason they traded WR Marty Booker and a 2005 third-round pick to Miami for DE Adewale Ogunelye.  Ogunelye led the AFC with 15 sacks in 2003 and was holding out for more money Miami didn't want to pay.  He would be injured for several games in 2004, but brought legitimacy to the Chicago pass rush.  Smith installed Ogunelye at left defensive end, a trademark of Smith's defense.  Most teams place their best passrusher at the right end position.  Grossman, reliably injury-free in high school and college, suffered his second major injury in his two seasons when he tore his ACL in the third game of the season.  This led to the entrance of Quinn, who started three games and was atrocious, finishing with a 53.7 QB rating.  Rookie Craig Krenzel started the next five, winning the first three, but was lost for the season in the Dallas Thanksgiving game.  Chad Hutchinson, an NFL goof that bounced back and forth between baseball and football, opened the final five and showed some promise.  The situation was so bad that following the Dallas game the Bears signed Jeff George, who had been a problem everywhere he played in his 14-year career.  Despite cries from fans to give him a look, George never took a snap.  2001 first-round pick David Terrell committed numerous penalties, some key that costed his team, and would be released following the season.    

The Bears finished last in the NFC North division, that was won by a fading 10-6 Green Bay Packer team.  In a weak NFC, the Minnesota Vikings actually made the playoffs with an 8-8 record, and defeated the Packers in Lambeau to advance to the divisional playoffs, where they lost at Philadelphia.  Following the win over the Vikings, the Eagles beat the upstart Atlanta Falcons, who were coached by rookie boss Jim Mora Jr., also considered by the Bears.  The Eagles exorcised their playoff demons by finally winning the NFC.  In the AFC, Pittsburgh rolled to a 15-1 record, led by rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.  The Steelers would lose at home to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship.  The Patriots, who earlier in the season smashed the Chicago Bears' record for most consecutive wins, eeked out their second consecutive Super Bowl win, 24-21.