Many Bears fans are currently debating whether to share or deny the 2010 love to Lovie.

But what the Bears are really struggling to determine is "To be or not to be" with the traditional brand of Bears football dating back to the George Halas days.

Lovie is a defense-first coach. His offensive coordinator Ron Turner calls 6-yard pass plays on third downs requiring eight yards for a conversion. While Turner could (and should) certainly take the fall for this season, the only question is whether he'll also drag Lovie into the vortex.

The Bears bet their future on Jay Cutler in the 2009 offseason. They traded not only a first- and third-rounder but a first-rounder and more during the 2010 draft, too. That means the team won't get fixed through the draft, which makes the recent comments that the Bears brass are content with their current cast all the more hollow. They'd better be happy because they're not going to have the draft choices to make much more of an immediate impact.

That would leave the door open to major acquisitions via free agency, but given that the brass is "content" with the current cast -- and upside of guys drafted in recent fifth rounds or below -- the chances of wallets blowing open seems remote at best, too.

So if the front office can't (or won't) fix the Bears, then it seems someone on the field is going to have to do it instead. Is that Lovie, the man who took them to their first Super Bowl (in 2006) in more than 20 years? Or is it someone else?

Lovie is more equipped to ride a Brian Urlacher to playoff contention than a Jay Cutler, and there's the rub. Could they trade out for Mike Shanahan or someone like him? Should they? If they bring in the offensive "guru" some Bears fans have always longed for -- now that they have a person in Cutler who can actually execute -- will it mean the end of hard-nosed, badass Bears defense?

When you really look in the mirror Bears fans, what jersey do you see yourself wearing? The flash-and-finesse of an elite offense or the down-and-dirty, short sleeves in bad weather of a Mongo McMichael or Dan Hampton? The decision of "to be or not to be" with Lovie Smith has a lot more repercussions than Lovie's immediate future.

It's all about what the Bears can, should or want to be into both the near and mid-term future.

--THOMAS TYRER