Jan. 23--Look away from Sunday's NFC championship game for your own good, Bears fans. Trust me.
Nothing to see here, not with the man who should be coaching the Bears, Bruce Arians, leading the Cardinals against the guy who remains the Chicago prototype for the job, Panthers coach Ron Rivera. The Bears botched everything when they bypassed Arians for Marc Trestman in 2013, Halas Hall shortsightedness surpassed only by the firing of Rivera as defensive coordinator in February 2007.
Everybody still rues and remembers that day, as much as a football city wants to forget it. Lovie Smith, drunk with power after taking the Bears to Super Bowl XLI, severed ties with the most qualified head coach in the building. In what still ranks as Smith's biggest blunder, he dumped Rivera in favor of Bob Babich and actually convinced his bosses it would work. It didn't.
Smith just lost his job as head coach of the Buccaneers, who promoted offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. That made me wonder how much different life might have been for the Bears if the McCaskeys had responded to Smith's contract demands by pulling a similar coup and elevating Rivera instead of escorting him out the door. Alas, Smith stayed and the Bears made just one more playoff appearance in 2010 before their current five-season stretch of unsettling postseason absences began.
The future looked so different when Smith smugly announced 15 days after a Super Bowl loss to the Colts that the Bears were moving on from Rivera, who did nothing to warrant being dismissed except exceed Smith's popularity. More than anything, that sealed Rivera's fate.
"You should trust me as a head football coach to put us in the best position to win football games," Smith said.
Trust me.
Ironically, it was all lost that day. Nine years later, Rivera has emerged as one of the NFL's most trusted head coaches after a 15-1 season that brought the former Bears linebacker national recognition he earned through uncommon effort and sincerity. The longtime assistant who interviewed for 11 head-coaching positions before landing his first job now stands four quarters away from returning to the Super Bowl, perhaps again to match wits against quarterback Peyton Manning, the way he did in Miami with the Bears, if the Panthers and Broncos both prevail. How fascinating that would be.
Forget ESPN's documentary on the '85 Bears. What better way to honor the 30th anniversary of one of the best NFL teams of all time than to see one of its members coaching his team in the title game?
If the Panthers beat the Cardinals, Rivera likely will be asked repeatedly for two weeks about similarities between the '85 Bears with the '15 Panthers but, other than a 15-1 regular-season record, those comparisons feel forced. Both teams relied heavily on unsung offensive lines, rode the strength of dominant defenses and reveled in the fun of big personalities, but the difference in eras makes it a stretch to find common ground beyond Rivera.
Yes, Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan greatly influenced Rivera's coaching style, as he respectfully mentioned recently, but so did Andy Reid and Jim Johnson with the Eagles, not to mention Dave Wannstedt, Norv Turner and John Madden. Sure, Cam Newton likes dancing after touchdowns and the '85 Bears enjoyed making the "Super Bowl Shuffle," but every reference to the team Rivera played on 30 years ago takes attention from the one he coaches now.
The one that deserves America's undivided attention for being the surprise team among the NFL's Final Four. The one Rivera sensed was special after a training-camp altercation between Newton and cornerback Josh Norman that players handled internally.
"I was all set to give this big speech about team, about love your brother, and over walks Ryan Kalil and he says, 'Coach, we got this,' and Thomas Davis says, 'Hey, we can handle it, Coach,' " Rivera told reporters Thursday in Charlotte. "They took care of it, and look where we are today, and again I think it's because they've taken ownership of the locker room, they've taken responsibility of themselves. That's what helped them grow into the team that we are today."
Sometimes the best move is not making one at all, an adage that applies for NFL coaches and owners alike. Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, for example, resisted pressure to fire Rivera after he went 13-19 in his first two shaky seasons. Instead, Richardson showed uncommon patience in today's win-now pro sports culture by supporting Rivera, who before his third season in 2013 recommitted to being more true to his personality and connecting with players on a more personal level.
A heart-to-heart talk with Madden, who won a Super Bowl coaching the Raiders, profoundly changed Rivera's approach, according to an NBC Sports profile. The Panthers are 34-13-1 with two playoff victories in the three seasons since Rivera vowed to coach with no regrets.
Now there is not a coach who appreciates where he is any more than the one who last year at this time was putting his family's life back together after a fire destroyed their home. There are more decorated and accomplished NFL head coaches still working this weekend, but none any worthier of your respect.
Trust me.
dhaugh@tribpub.com
