How much responsibility of a losing season falls on the head coaches head? And how long can a mediocre coach survive from a Super Bowl appearance? Head coach for the Chicago Bears, Lovie Smith, appeared in the 2006 Super Bowl—with quarterback Rex Grossman leading the way—but has done nothing since.

Since that 2006 Super Bowl appearance, Smith has gone 22-25 and has not seen a playoff game. With the addition of Jay Cutler, you would think the Bears could at least do as well as when Grossman was the quarterback.

It is becoming commonplace for coaches to take the fall when teams fail. I guess it’s like any other business: the presidents take the fall when the company fails.

Maybe all coaches and players should follow the likes of running back Ricky Williams when he signed with the New Orleans Saints and have an incentive-based salary. Everyone starts with a base pay, respective of each position, and then the millions of dollars should be earned. First-year players that have not proven themselves and still make ridiculous amounts of money may cause them to lose their edge. The NFL provides speed, the hardest hits you have ever seen, on-and-off-the-field antics, and great entertainment, but is sometimes missing that motivation that college players have. Incentive-based pay could renew that motivation.

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There is a growing consensus around the league that believes that former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher is ready to make a return to the sidelines next fall, and while there have been several speculative reports with him potentially landing in Chicago, Carolina, and Washington, thus far Cowher isn’t talking.

But according to Redskins beat reporter Chris Russell, sources close to Cowher have indicated that he would not be interested at this point in working for Redskins owner Dan Snyder, taking Washington out of the mix for his services and increasing the likelihood of a deal to coach the Panthers in the future (H/T to Football News Now)

We previously discussed a Cowher to Carolina deal last month, breaking down a multitude of factors that could positively impact the Panthers chances of landing Cowher, if they decide to remove current head coach John Fox from his position. At the time, it seemed as though all the right things were falling into place for Cowher to make his come back with Carolina, but depending on what the Bears decide to do with Lovie Smith, Chicago could definitely make a strong push to get Cowher into the fold and running the show.

As always, we’ll keep you posted when more information breaks on this and the other stories we’re following.

This season has been a frustrating one for sure for the Chicago Bears and their fans, and while head coach Lovie Smith seems to be safe for the time being, his assistant coaches are most certainly not. That has led to a recent storm of rumors taking hold in the Windy City, with former Rams head coach Mike Martz sitting firmly in the center, as a possible replacement for offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who is all but assured a one way ticket out of town at the end of the year.

Chicago Tribune beat writer Dan Pompei took the discussion to a whole new level this morning, with a piece on what the Bears would need to do to ensure success under Martz and his “Greatest Show on Turf” style of offense. Pompei believes that the most important part of Martz’s offense is solid blocking from the tackle positions and while the current duo in Chicago is okay, neither Orlando Pace or Chris Williams has proven themselves capable of playing at the high level that Martz will demand.

So where to turn for help on that front? It will most likely have to come from the draft, as free agency is a notoriously difficult place to find quality tackles, given their immense value to a franchise. But with a recent first round pick invested in Williams, and several picks gone from this year’s class to pay off the remainder of the balanced on the Jay Cutler deal, it’s going to be hard to find the caliber of player the Bears need in the spot they’re drafting.

It’s obvious that Martz is going to push himself as a head coach in the league first this off-season, hoping to land one of several positions that are certain to be open. But if he’s unsuccessful in that endeavor, you can bet he’ll be very receptive to an offer from Chicago, given his close relationship with Smith and an opportunity to work with a talented QB in Cutler. With good blocking and better weapons around him, Cutler could thrive in Martz’s style of play, as he is fully capable of making any throw asked of him.

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After a frustrating season ended without a playoff berth for the Chicago Bears, head coach Lovie Smith vowed to make more than a few changes to the way things were done in Halas Hall. Smith made good on that promise today, relieving defensive coordinator Bob Babich of his play calling duties and assuming them himself for the duration of next season.

Babich will be relegated to coaching the team’s linebackers, a position he held from 2004-06 under former defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who now holds the same position in San Diego.