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Bears' Jauron Fired After Five Seasons

Posted on: Monday, 29 December 2003, 06:00 CST

Dick Jauron was fired as coach of the Chicago Bears on Monday after his fourth losing season in five years. The Bears closed a 7-9 season with a 31-3 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Jauron, who had a year left on his contract, leaves Chicago with a 35-46 record, including 0-1 in the playoffs.

The team scheduled an afternoon news conference to announce the firing.

Also Monday, the Miami Dolphins gave coach Dave Wannstedt a two-year contract extension, through 2006. But he will lose control over player personnel decisions, and owner Wayne Huizenga will hire a general manager.

Jauron's only winning season was 2001, when the Bears went 13-3 and lost their only postseason game of his tenure. That earned him the NFL Coach of the Year award.

Now he's out of a job.

"He's a good guy. He took it in stride, you know. We're all upset. But you have to move on. What's done is done," defensive end Phillip Daniels said Monday after a team meeting. "We're sad to see him go."

Daniels said the players respected the way Jauron kept the Bears together despite a 1-5 start.

"He's not down on himself right now, he knows he'll get a job somewhere out there," Daniels said.

The Bears went through three quarterbacks and had numerous injuries.

Heading into the final game, Chicago had yet to start the same lineup on offense and defense two straight weeks. While that was occasionally prompted by a promotion (or demotion) or the offensive scheme, injuries were the main reason.

Anthony Thomas, the workhorse of the offense, missed three games because of a sore foot and pneumonia. Leading receiver Marty Booker also missed three games with a sprained ankle.

Quarterback Kordell Stewart, the Bears' big free-agent pickup in the offseason, wasn't very effective before getting hurt. Chris Chandler played a few games before he went down, too.

The offensive line was very nicked up, and while the defense was a little more stable, tackle Keith Traylor and linebacker Warrick Holdman missed games.

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