Written by Brett Solesky | 10 January 2010

I held off on doing a candidate profile on the defensive coordinators for a specific reason.  That reason is pretty simple and clear, Lovie Smith had one person in mind for the job and that person is likely to accept the job during his interview on Monday. 

Former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator and interim coach Perry Fewell who served under Lovie Smith in 2005 as the secondary coach is going to accept the job on Monday.  Fewell meets all the requirements Smith is looking for in his narrow minded search, someone who has worked with him before and someone who is cut from the same Cover-2 scheme. 

That candidate and now likely hire Fewell will become the new Bears' defensive coordinator.  While most Bears fans may scoff at the notion of Fewell being another friend of Lovie, he has shown a solid capability of being a good defensive coach.  Fewell took over as the Bills defensive coordinator in 2006 and the Bills immediately jumped from 24th in the league in total defense in 2005 to 10th overall in defense in 2006. 

Some of the high lites from Fewell's first year as the defensive coordinator during the 2006 season, the Bills were eighth overall in the league in yards per pass attempt, 10th overall in sacks, seventh overall in passing yards allowed, 12th overall in the league in third down conversion percentage, 12th overall in takeaways.  All hall marks that Lovie Smith looks for from his own defense. 

However what will remain the most important aspect for the defense to succeed in 2010 is not the coaching, but the personnel.  The Bears still have to find a way to get to the QB, likely with the loss of Adewale Ogunleye and possibly Mark Anderson, uh er um....two of their best pass rushers...allegedly. 

In each of the last two seasons the Bears have been near the bottom of the league in sacks and overall pressure on the QB.  The effort from the pass rush has looked pretty lethargic as well, with only Alex Brown showing a will to try and get to the QB.  Unfortunately Brown's speed is limited so he's never able to get the pressure that's necessary. 

The Bears have been one of the best teams in the league at forcing teams into third and long situations, now they need to find the personnel to help them get to the QB and force him into bad throws.  Will it come from a Tommie Harris who will go an entire off-season without a surgery for the first time in three years?  

The only real positive that can come from Fewell's arrival is allowing Lovie Smith to focus on being a head coach again.  A coach who can focus on all aspects of his team, provide leadership for the team and demand accountability from the team. 

This will be the goal for the Bears, get leadership from their head coach, and find a way to get off the field on third down and long.

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