The contract between The Chicago Bears and middle linebacker Brian Urlacher ran out at the end of the 2012 season and with the firing of longtime Bears head coach Lovie Smith it could also spell the end of Urlacher in The Windy City. Urlacher was the perfect linebacker for Smith’s cover 2 defense which asked a lot of the linebackers. Urlacher can cover from sideline to sideline, he is instinctive, and he is a sure tackler. The Bears knew this when he was a safety at college at The University of New Mexico which is why the team converted him to middle linebacker once drafting him ninth overall at The 2000 National Football League Draft.
Smith became The Bears head coach in 2004 and with Urlacher the two set the tone for Bears football during that era which was capped by a trip to The Super Bowl after the 2006 season. Aside from being 34-years old, Urlacher would have to return to The Bears in a new defensive scheme. Since Smith was fired he has interviewed with The Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles for their respective head coaching positions. If Smith were to land a head coaching spot for next season, he would more than likely reach out to Urlacher to be the bridge that would teach his scheme to the new squad.
With The Dallas Cowboys hiring Monte Kiffin as their new defensive coordinator they will be switching from the 3-4 defense to the cover 2. Kiffin is regarded by many in The NFL as “the godfather” of the cover 2 as he ran it for years when he was the defensive coordinator of The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Urlacher could be that defensive presence that Dallas lacked in 2012. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones signed veteran middle linebacker Keith Brooking prior to the 2009 season. Brooking had 75 tackles that season as The Cowboys won The NFC East which was also that last time that The Cowboys made the postseason. Jones is a desperate man as his team has been shut out of the postseason the last three seasons and he could make a play on Urlacher to teach Kiffin’s scheme on the field.
If Urlacher is done is Chicago he has a lasting legecy. Urlacher carried the torch of great Bear middle linebackers from Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary. Butkus and Singletary were instinctive, tough guys who loved to inflict pain. Urlacher is indeed a throwback to the days of dirty uniforms and bloody hands when The Bears played at Wrigley Field. Urlacher could also fit in with The Bears of the 1980’s as he did whatever it took to win. As Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis enters the twilight of his NFL career, Urlacher is right there with him as far as career accomplishments. Urlacher won The NFL’s Defensive Rookie of The Year Award in 2000. Urlacher was the league’s Defensive Player of The Year in 2005. Urlacher is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and he is no. 1 in the hearts of Bear fans. Unlike Lewis, Urlacher was never able to hoist The Vince Lombardi Trophy as a Super Bowl Champion, but he did have 10 tackles in Super Bowl 41 as The Bears lost to The Indianapolis Colts. If Urlacher were to never again suit up for The Bears at Soldier Field he has indeed left his mark with the franchise as he has tallied 1,052 career tackles along with 41.5 sacks. There is no doubt that Urlacher will one day grace the halls of The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio along with Singletary and Butkus.
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