Dave Wannstedt, coaching against the Bears on Monday for the first time in the regular season, said early this week he won’t feel any special emotions. It has been 60 games, nearly four seasons, since he coached in Chicago.
“I think it is far enough removed,” Wannstedt said. “I don’t know how they played or what their record is because I haven’t started watching film.”
There has been a lot of change and no change at all since he was fired after the 1998 season and took over the Miami Dolphins in 2000. Dick Jauron is 27-33 in the 60 games. Wannstedt was 22-38 in his last 60 in Chicago. Mike Ditka was 29-31 in his last 60.
The Bears still are looking for a running back it turns out. Wannstedt would feel right at home. The film he is watching this week looks eerily like reruns, with no runner.
Ditka can’t empathize, spoiled by Neal Anderson after Walter Payton. Wannstedt endured the fading Anderson, journeyman Lewis Tillman, bust Rashaan Salaam, injury-riddled Raymont Harris, retread Edgar Bennett and bust Curtis Enis during his frustrating tenure.
It’s no wonder Wannstedt and former Bears scout Rick Spielman, now Miami’s personnel director, jumped at the chance to trade a No. 1 draft choice–maybe two–for a proven back, Ricky Williams. Salaam and Enis were No. 1 picks. Williams was a used No. 1, but the ad in the classifieds would have read: “runs good.”
Jauron thought he’d found an answer with second-rounder Anthony Thomas, who ran like a first-rounder and was Rookie of the Year only to suffer one of the worst sophomore slumps by a running back in recent years.
While fellow sophomore backs LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego, Michael Bennett of Minnesota, Deuce McAllister of New Orleans, Travis Henry of Buffalo and Kevan Barlow of San Francisco improved significantly from their rookie seasons, Thomas declined before a broken finger ended his season last week.
There is more to success than successful running backs, as Williams and Thomas can attest. So can Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs, a great and lonely player on a 6-6 team. Wannstedt watched Williams slice up Buffalo for 228 yards last week, only to lose.
Wannstedt and offensive coordinator Norv Turner are trying to relive their glory days as coordinators under Jimmy Johnson in Dallas, with Emmitt Smith as their featured back. But everybody remembers Smith was part of one of the great “triangle” offenses in NFL history with quarterback Troy Aikman and receiver Michael Irvin.
That is why Wannstedt is eager to add quarterback Jay Fiedler to the mix Monday night. Fiedler missed six starts with a broken thumb. Wannstedt is also eager to see whether old receiver Cris Carter can make up anything from the loss of Oronde Gadsden to injury for the season.
In Thomas, receiver Marty Booker and QB Jim Miller, the Bears believed they had a serviceable “tripod” on which to mount their offense. Usually a reliable trio at those three positions can keep a team upright through thick and thin–witness Brett Favre, Ahman Green and Donald Driver in Green Bay; Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison in Indianapolis; Jeff Garcia, Garrison Hearst and Terrell Owens in San Francisco; or Michael Vick, Michael Vick and Michael Vick in Atlanta.
For the Bears and Jauron, it didn’t happen this year, just as it never happened for the Bears and Wannstedt.
Like Wannstedt, Jauron has seen his regime marked by different leaders at the offensive skill positions almost every season. In 1999 the passing-running-receiving leaders were Shane Matthews, Curtis Enis and Bobby Engram. In 2000 they were Cade McNown, James Allen and a tie between Marcus Robinson and Eddie Kennison. In 2001 they were Miller, Booker and Thomas. In 2002 it will be the same three, but Thomas’ season came to a premature close.
More Top Picks Medicine Balls
It will be the first time since 1991-92 that the Bears have had the same three leaders in back-to-back seasons. That was when Ditka had Jim Harbaugh, Anderson and Wendell Davis.
So after Wannstedt got his first glimpse of Bears video, he gave this appraisal Wednesday:
“They’ve had an awful lot of injuries and an awful lot of close games. I think in this league, there are about 40 percent of games decided by less than a touchdown, so there’s a fine line. . . . They’ve had a chance to win a lot of games. They’ve had the lead and just had a lot of unfortunate things happen, whether it be during the course of the game or injuries or whatever.
“The guys are playing as hard as anyone we’ve played and they’re well coached. And we know this being a nationally televised game that we have our hands full. That’s what I told our players this morning.”
That’s his story, a familiar one. The Bears are sticking to it no matter who coaches.