- List of Chicago Bears head coaches
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Mike Ditka was the head coach of the Bears from 1982 to 1992 and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.[1]
This is a complete list of Chicago Bears head coaches. There have been 16 head coaches for the Chicago Bears, including coaches for the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and Chicago Staleys (1921), of the National Football League (NFL). The Bears franchise was founded as the Decatur Staleys, a charter member of the American Professional Football Association. The team moved to Chicago in 1921, and changed their name to the Bears in 1922, the same year the American Professional Football Association (APFA) changed its name to the National Football League.
The Chicago Bears have played over one thousand games. In those games, five different coaches have won NFL championships with the team: George Halas in 1921, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1946, and 1963, Ralph Jones in 1932, Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos in 1943,[2] and Mike Ditka in 1985.[3] George Halas is the only coach to have more than one tenure and is the all-time leader in games coached and wins, while Ralph Jones leads all coaches in winning percentage with .706.[4] Abe Gibron is statistically the worst coach the Bears have had in terms of winning percentage, with .268.[5]
Of the 16 Bears coaches, three have been elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: George Halas, Paddy Driscoll, and Mike Ditka.[6] Several former players have been head coach for the Bears, including George Halas, Hunk Anderson, Luke Johnsos, Paddy Driscoll, Jim Dooley, Abe Gibron, and Mike Ditka. The current coach is Lovie Smith, who was hired on January 14, 2004.[7]
Statistics correct as of the end of the 2010 NFL season.
Contents
Key
# Number of coaches[9] GC Games Coached W Wins L Loses T Ties Win% Winning percentage – Returning from previous year(s) of coaching * Spent entire professional head coaching career with Bears † Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Coaches
# Name Term Regular Season Playoffs Awards GC W L T Win% GC W L Decatur Staleys 1 Fritz Wasem[10] 1919 Not Available[11] 2 Red Brannon[10] 1919 3 James Cook[10] 1919 Decatur/Chicago Bears 4 George Halas[12] † 1920–1929 134 84 31 17 .744 No postseason[13] NFL Championship (1921) 5 Ralph Jones * 1930–1932 41 24 10 7 .706 – – – NFL Championship (1932) — George Halas[12] † 1933–1942 110 84 22 4 .799 6 4 2 3 NFL Championships (1933, 1940–41) 6 Hunk Anderson[2] * 1942–1945 36 23 11 2 .676 2 1 1 NFL Championship (1943) 7 Luke Johnsos[2] * 1942–1945 36 23 11 2 .676 2 1 1 — George Halas[12] † 1946–1955 119 75 42 2 .641 2 1 1 NFL Championship (1946) 8 Paddy Driscoll † 1956–1957 24 14 9 1 .609 1 0 1 — George Halas[12] † 1958–1967 134 75 53 6 .588 1 1 0 NFL Championship (1963)
AP Coach of the Year (1963, 1965)[14]
Sporting News Coach of the Year (1963, 1965)[15]
UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1963, 1965)[16]9 Jim Dooley * 1968–1971 56 20 36 0 .357 – – – 10 Abe Gibron * 1972–1974 42 11 30 1 .268 – – – 11 Jack Pardee 1975–1977 42 20 22 0 .476 1 0 1 UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1976)[17] 12 Neill Armstrong * 1978–1981 64 30 34 0 .469 1 0 1 13 Mike Ditka 1982–1992 168 106 62 0 .631 12 6 6 NFL Championship (1985)
AP Coach of the Year (1985, 1988)[18]
Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (1988)[19]
Sporting News Coach of the Year (1985)[20]
UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1985, 1988)[21]14 Dave Wannstedt 1993–1998 96 40 56 0 .417 2 1 1 UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1994)[22] 15 Dick Jauron 1999–2003 80 35 45 0 .438 1 0 1 AP Coach of the Year (2001)
Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (2001)[23]
Sporting News Coach of the Year (2001)16 Lovie Smith * 2004–present 121 69 52 0 .570 6 3 3 AP Coach of the Year (2005)[24]
Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (2005)[25]References
- ^ "Mike Ditka's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/DitkMi0.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ a b c Anderson and Johnsos were co-Head Coaches from 1942 to 1945. They were appointed by Halas went he left to serve in the US Navy.
- ^ "Chicago Bears Championship History". NFLTeamHistory.com. http://www.nflteamhistory.com/nfl_teams/chicago_bears/championship_history.html. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ "Ralph Jones' Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/JoneRa0.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ "Abe Gibron's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/GibrAb0.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ "Hall of Famers by Franchise". Pro Football Hall of Fame. http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/teams.aspx. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
- ^ "Bears hire Smith to be head coach". Yahoo Sports. 2004-01-16. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/bears/2004-01-14-smith-bears_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ "George Halas' Statistics". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/halasge01.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ A running total of the number of coaches of the Bears. Thus any coach who has two separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
- ^ a b c Wasem, Brannon, and Cook became the coaches of the club when it was established by the A. E. Staley Company of Decatur, Illinois in 1919 as a company team.
- ^ No official records have been found for the 1919 season.
- ^ a b c d Halas' full coaching record with the Bears is 497 regular season games coached with a record of 318–148–31 and a W–L percentage of .682. He is also 6–3 in 9 Playoff games.
- ^ The NFL did not hold playoff games until 1932.
- ^ "Bears' Smith wins AP Coach award". Associated Press. ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2283709. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year". SuperBowl. http://www.2007-superbowl.com/NFL_Coach.html. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Halas, George. Halas by Halas: The Autobiography of George Halas. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0070255490.
- ^ "Jack Pardee". Sports Reference, LLC.. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/PardJa0.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "89 – Mike Ditka". chicagobears.com. http://www.chicagobears.com/tradition/hof-ditka.asp. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Dickey, Glenn. "Ditka's delirium:". http://archive.profootballweekly.com/content/archives/draft_1998/dickey_042299.asp. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "MIKE DITKA". Nationwide Speakers Bureau, Inc.. http://www.nationwidespeakers.com/speaker/80/mike-ditka/nfl-coaching-legend. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Taylor, Roy. "Mike Ditka, Chicago Bear '61–'66; '82–'92". http://www.bearshistory.com/lore/mikeditka.aspx. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Dave Wannstedt". Sports Reference, LLC.. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/WannDa0.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Dick Jauron". Sports Reference, LLC. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/JaurDi0.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Lovie Smith". chicagoBears.com. http://www.chicagobears.com/team/coach.asp?coach_id=1. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Lovie Smith". Sports Reference, LLC.. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/SmitLo0.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
External links
- "Chicago Bears History". CBS Sports. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/history/CHI. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
- "Hall of Famers by Franchise". Pro Football Hall of Fame. http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/teams.aspx. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
- "Decatur Staleys Coaching Records and History". DatabaseFootball.com. http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachteam.htm?tm=DEC&lg=apfa. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
- "Chicago Staleys Coaching Records and History". DatabaseFootball.com. http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachteam.htm?tm=CHS&lg=apfa. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
- "Chicago Bears Coaching Records and History". DatabaseFootball.com. http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachteam.htm?tm=CHI&lg=nfl. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
Chicago Bears Formerly the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Staleys • Founded in 1919 • Based in Chicago, Illinois The Franchise Records Seasons • Records and statistics • All-time record versus NFL • Bears results on Primetime Football (Sunday Night • Monday Night • Thursday Night) • Holiday Football (Thanksgiving • Christmas) • Team awards and honors • Individual league award winners • Players (A-D - E-K - L-R - S-Z) • Head Coaches • Pro Football Hall of Famers • First-round Draft Picks • Starting Quarterbacks • Pro Bowlers • All-ProStadiums Lore Fog Bowl • 1932 Playoff Game • First NFL Championship Game • "The Sneakers Game" • Monsters of the Midway • 46 Defense • 15-1 • Super Bowl XX • Thanksgiving Classic • Bears 73, Redskins 0 • Instant Replay Game • Staley Swindle • Cardiac Kids • George S. Halas Trophy • Christmas games • International Series • American Bowl • Bills Toronto Series • Brian Piccolo Award • 75th Anniversary (League • Team • NFL All-Time Team) • The 700 ClubCulture Brian's Song (1971) / (2001) • "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" • "The Super Bowl Shuffle" • Da Super Fans • Chuck Swirsky • Staley Da Bear • Logos and Uniforms • Halas Hall • A.E. Staley • Jack Brickhouse • Papa Bear • Roosevelt/Wabash • 85386 PaytonRivalries Green Bay Packers • Minnesota VikingsRetired Numbers Key Personnel Chairman: George McCaskey • President/CEO: Ted Phillips • General Manager: Jerry Angelo • Head Coach: Lovie SmithNFL Championships (9) Super Bowl Appearances (2) Other honors NFL Championship Appearances (10) – 1933 • 1934 • 1937 • 1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943 • 1946 • 1956 • 1963
NFC Championship Game Appearances (5) – 1984 • 1985 • 1988 • 2006 • 2010
Division Titles | NFL Western (8) – 1933 • 1934 • 1937 • 1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943 • 1946 – NFC Central (7) – 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1990 • 2001 – NFC North (3) – 2005 • 2006 • 2010Current League Affiliations League: National Football League • Conference: National Football Conference • Division: North DivisionFormer League Affiliations League: Independent (1919) • Conference: National Conference (1950–1952); Western Conference (1953–1969) • Division: NFL Western Division (1933–1949); Central Division (1967–1969); NFC Central Division (1970–2001)Local Broadcast Affiliates Seasons (92) 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2010 • 2011Decatur Staleys / Chicago Bears head coaches George Halas (1920–1931) • Ralph Jones (1930–1932) • George Halas (1933–1942) • Heartley Anderson & Luke Johnsos (1942–1945) • George Halas (1946–1955) • Paddy Driscoll (1956–1957) • George Halas (1958–1967) • Jim Dooley (1968–1971) • Abe Gibron (1972–1974) • Jack Pardee (1975–1977) • Neill Armstrong (1978–1981) • Mike Ditka (1982–1992) • Dave Wannstedt (1993–1998) • Dick Jauron (1999–2003) • Lovie Smith (2004– )
Categories:- Chicago Bears head coaches
- Lists of head coaches by National Football League team
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