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.
George Halas, founder of the Bears, during his brief career with the New York Yankees in 1919[8]
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 | |||||||||||||||
| 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 | 124 | 70 | 54 | 0 | .565 | 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.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 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.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 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.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 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.
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