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.
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 December 30, 2007, after the end of the 2007 NFL season.

Contents

[edit] Key

      Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
      Spent entire professional head coaching career with Bears

# Number of coaches[8]
GC Games Coached
W Wins
L Loses
T Ties
W – L % Win – Loss percentage
– Returning from previous year(s) of coaching


[edit] Coaches

George Halas, founder of the Bears, during his brief career with the New York Yankees in 1919
George Halas, founder of the Bears, during his brief career with the New York Yankees in 1919[9]
# Name Term Regular Season Playoffs Awards
GC W L T W – L % 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]
5 Ralph Jones 1930 – 1932 41 24 10 7 .706 – – –
— George Halas[12] 1933 – 1942 110 84 22 4 .799 6 4 2
6 Hunk Anderson[2] 1942 – 1945 36 23 11 2 .676 2 1 1
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
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 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 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)[23]
Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (2001)[24]
Sporting News Coach of the Year (2001)[25]
16 Lovie Smith 2004 – present 64 36 28 0 .563 4 2 2 AP Coach of the Year (2005)[26]
Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (2005)[27]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mike Ditka's Coaching Record. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Chicago Bears Championship History. NFLTeamHistory.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  4. ^ Ralph Jones' Coaching Record. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  5. ^ Abe Gibron's Coaching Record. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  6. ^ Hall of Famers by Franchise. Pro Football Hall of Fame Official website. Retrieved on March 18, 2008.
  7. ^ Bears hire Smith to be head coach. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ George Halas' Statistics. Baseball Reference. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ No official records have been found for the 1919 season.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ The NFL did not hold playoff games until 1932.
  14. ^ Bears' Smith wins AP Coach award. Associated Press. ESPN. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  15. ^ Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year. SuperBowl. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  16. ^ Halas, George. Halas by Halas: The Autobiography of George Halas. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0070255490. 
  17. ^ Jack Pardee. Sports Reference, LLC.. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  18. ^ 89 - Mike Ditka. chicagobears.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  19. ^ Dickey, Glenn. Ditka's delirium:. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  20. ^ MIKE DITKA. Nationwide Speakers Bureau, Inc.. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  21. ^ Taylor, Roy. Mike Ditka, Chicago Bear '61-'66; '82-'92. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  22. ^ Dave Wannstedt. Sports Reference, LLC.. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  23. ^ Dick Jauron - Head Coach. buffalobills.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  24. ^ Dick Jauron. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  25. ^ Dick Jauron. detroitlions.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  26. ^ Lovie Smith. chicagoBears.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  27. ^ Lovie Smith. Sports Reference, LLC.. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Chicago Bears
Formerly the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Staleys • Based in Chicago, Illinois
The Franchise
History • Seasons • Records • Players • Head Coaches
Stadiums
Culture
The Rivalries
Lore
Important Figures
George Halas • Edward Sternaman • George Halas, Jr. • Bronko Nagurski • George McAfee • Harold (Red) Grange • Ed Healey • Jim Finks • Doug Atkins • Bill George • Bill Hewitt • Willie Galimore • Dick Butkus • Mike Singletary • Mike Ditka • Walter Payton • Brian Piccolo • Gale Sayers • Ralph Jones • Heartley Anderson • Luke Johnsos • Paddy Driscoll • Jim Dooley • Abe Gibron • Jack Pardee • Neill Armstrong • Jim McMahon • Matt Suhey • Michael McCaskey • Willie Gault • Kevin Butler • Jim Covert • Dan Hampton • Richard Dent • Steve McMichael • William Perry • Otis Wilson • Wilber Marshall • Gary Fencik • Sid Luckman • George Blanda • Bobby Douglass • Clyde Turner • Kyle Orton • Erik Kramer • Doug Flutie • Neal Anderson • Jim Harbaugh • Cade McNown • Brian Urlacher • Rex Grossman • Tommie Harris • Greg Olsen • Devin Hester • Curtis Enis • Walt Harris • Marty Booker • Jim Miller • Rashaan Salaam
Retired Numbers
3 • 5 • 7 • 28 • 34 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 51 • 56 • 61 • 66 • 77
Key Personnel
Owner: Virginia Halas McCaskey • Chairman: Michael McCaskey • President/CEO: Ted Phillips • General Manager: Jerry Angelo • Head Coach: Lovie Smith
League
Championships (9)
1921 • 1932 • 1933 • 1940 • 1941 • 1943 • 1946 • 1963 • 1985
NFL Championship
Appearances (10)
1933 • 1934 • 1937 • 1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943 • 1946 • 1956 • 1963
Super Bowl
Appearances (2)
1985 (XX) • 2006 (XLI)
NFL seasons (89)
1920 · 1921 · 1922 · 1923 · 1924 · 1925 · 1926 · 1927 · 1928 · 1929 · 1930 · 1931 · 1932 · 1933 · 1934 · 1935 · 1936 · 1937 · 1938 · 1939 · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008
Current League
Affiliations
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v • d • e
Decatur Staleys/Chicago Bears Head Coaches
Halas • Jones • Halas • Anderson • Johnsos • Halas • Driscoll • Halas • Dooley • Gibron • Pardee • Armstrong • Ditka • Wannstedt • Jauron • Smith
v • d • e
List of NFL head coaches by team