The Chicago Bears, though 8-4, have been slumping lately and have not looked like a playoff-ready squad.  In their past 4 games they have gone 1-3 with the only victory coming against the Minnesota Vikings.  Throughout the season they are 1-4 against teams that have records of .500 or better, that one victory was in the opener against the Indianapolis Colts and Andrew Luck’s very first NFL game.  While they are still in great position to, at the very least, make the wild card the possibility of them missing out on the playoffs still looms.  With recent injuries to Brian Urlacher and Tim Jennings the defensive unit may not be able to stop upcoming opponents such as Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers, Larry Fitzgerald, and Calvin Johnson.  If they do miss out on the playoffs they would have been to the playoffs only one time in the past six years.  At that point you have to wonder about the job security of head coach Lovie Smith.

Smith is a perennial name on the coaching hot seat along with Tom Coughlin and Andy Reid, but with a new general manager and possibly two consecutive late-season collapses this year might finally be the year that the Bears decide to move in a different direction.  With they hypothetical termination of Smith, an entirely new regime would be in place and sweeping changes would come through Halas Hall.

The biggest change I see happening is something that may be tough for Bears fans to take in – the departure of 54.  Since Urlacher tore his MCL in the last game of 2011 I’ve been predicting that this season would be his last not only in Chicago, but all together.  His most recent injury only makes me more certain in this prediction.  Urlacher has played 13 seasons in the NFL, all with the Chicago Bears.  Injuries have been mounting up for him, he has clearly lost a step in his game, and his contract expires at the end of this season.  He’s still better than many 4-3 MLBs, but he isn’t the once great quarterback of the Bears defense.  If Lovie Smith were to be fired I believe that would serve as the icing on the cake for Urlacher to hang ’em up.  Why stick around for a couple more years under a new coach who’s going to bring his own scheme that will take time to implement to a point where the team is ready to compete?  I may shed a tear while watching that press conference.

Another major change I see happening (this is whether or not Smith is here) is the end of another era – The Windy City Flier.  Devin Hester has brought an excitement to special teams that has never before been seen in Chicago and most of the NFL.  He has set record after record and has literally changed how the NFL operates.  But not anymore, the Bears switched him to a full-time receiver again (which I addressed in my last post about why it was a dumb idea) and he has been completely ineffective there as well as in the return game.  Whenever he catches a pass it seems like he dives straight to the ground as if he’s going to gain an extra 15 yards.  On returns it seems as though he thinks it is 2006 all over again and he could literally make anything happen, unfortunately he’s been running backwards more than he has forward.  Next year Hester is owed approximately $2M plus a $10M “deescalating bonus”.  With expiring contracts such as Henry Melton, Lance Louis, and Jay Cutler (in 2013) and an already tight cap space, the Bears may be looking to trim as much salary as possible to ensure they keep their core players in the fold.

The final major change I can see forthcoming is strictly dependent on Lovie Smith being fired.  The trendy ting in the NFL over the past few years has been defenses switching to the 3-4 defense.  The main differences between the two is that in a 3-4 you have 3 down defensive linemen and 4 linebackers, that is just reversed in a 4-3.  In the 4-3 the responsibility of rushing the passer is put on the defensive line, specifically the ends.  The linebackers are there for run support and dropping into coverage.  The 3-4 has it so the linemen essentially act as an offensive line for the linebackers, who rush the passer.  The defensive linemen in a 3-4 are bigger and will attempt to take on multiple blockers at one time so the linebackers can get through.

This past April the Bears used their 1st round pick on a LB/DE Shea McClellin out of Boise State.  Leading up to the draft many draft pundits had him pegged as a player best suited for a team running the 3-4 defense.  While the Bears have been playing him at DE his entire rookie season it could be a sign that Phil Emery has been thinking about making the switch, which would be an easy transition for McClellin.  That being said, it would not be an easy transition for many of the other players who haven’t played in this scheme before or are simply not suited for it.  Core players such as Lance Briggs and Henry Melton really aren’t suited for playing in that kind of scheme and may be forced out of town if the hypothetical new head coach wants to run a 3-4.

There are many more changes I can think of that would come, but these are just a few of the most significant ones I can see happening.  Ideally the Bears would make the playoffs, Lovie will keep his job, Urlacher heals completely and plays at a high level, and everyone is happy.  But unfortunately life doesn’t always work out like that and Bears fans must be prepared for the many changes to come if the team fails to make the playoffs.