The coaching staff of the Chicago Bears has been shuffled around a little during the off season, but one thing is for sure – these coaches will be staying around for a long time.

Head coach Lovie Smith was given a new contract shortly after the off season and now he is locked in and ready to keep the Bears winning.

There is one significant change on the team for 2007, and that's the absence of defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, whose contract was not renewed after the season. The defense shouldn't suffer too much because of this primarily because it was always Smith's defense.

Here's a look at the Bears' coaching staff, and the top two men in the organization, General Manager Jerry Angelo and President Ted Phillips.

Lovie Smith

Not enough can be said about how good of a coach that Smith has been and will continue to be in the future. He has a great knowledge of defenses, makes wise decisions overall and thinks only of what is best for the team. Although there are many people who would criticize his sticking with Rex Grossman at quarterback throughout the season, his decision essentially paid off in the end but still caused the team to fall a little bit short of their ultimate goal to win the Super Bowl.

Smith is a wise coach, a great teacher and a real player's coach who cares about his players deeply. That was evident with Tank Johnson and his issues with the law during and after the season, as Smith went to bat for him in court to try to keep Johnson from going to jail. His coaching staff respects him and his players love him. The fans appreciate what he has done for the Bears and he has many more seasons to keep them a winner.

Ron Turner

Turner, the offensive coordinator, managed to get the Bears offense moving a little bit more in 2006 thanks in part to the play of Grossman, as well as the emergency of Cedric Benson and Bernard Berrian. Yes, Grossman did have his problems at times during the season, but the team, for the most part, stuck together and the offense (and sometimes the defense) helped bail him out of his predicaments. Overall, the offense is pretty good, but will need to add some weapons and change things around a little bit now that Benson will take over the starting duties.

Turner is a pretty good offensive coordinator, but will have to figure out something to compensate for Grossman's inability to keep the ball away from the opposing team. Hopefully, the Bears will be able to use Benson effectively at the tight end position. More downfield throws that this offense has will also help out both the running game and the passing game. If Turner can help get the offense on track in 2007, it could be a very long season for opposing defenses.

Bob Babich

Babich takes the place of Rivera at the defensive coordinator position and he should be well qualified to do this. He has been a disciple of Smith for several years now and knows the kind of defense that Smith tries to run so there should be no drop off here. Some of the problems that Babich will inherit are the possibility of Johnson not being there for all or part of the season, as well as the possibility that Lance Briggs could hold out or only play a few games at the end of the season. Babich might have to do more with less in 2007.

It's hard to tell how good Babich will do in his first season as defensive coordinator but he is going to be inheriting a solid group of players and a great scheme and should be able to flourish in 2007. I wouldn't look for too much of a drop off in the defense and everything should be just fine.

Jerry Angelo

Angelo has to be the second best General Manager in the NFL. He has crafted this team wisely and has done a great job with the coaching staff and built a championship contending team in just a few short years. He has a knack for finding talent in the later rounds of the draft (see Mark Anderson and Chris Harris) and he knows how to find great free agent talent. As long as Angelo is with the Bears, you can be rest assured that he will find a way to get the best players on the team either through free agency or through the draft.

With a contract extension in place, the sky is the limit for this team now as Angelo will have several seasons to keep building the Bears and keep them in contention for the NFL title each and every season. With the coaching staff he has and the system, it should be easy for the Bears to continue to be contenders for several seasons to come.

Ted Phillips

Phillips has done very well in helping build the foundation for the current Chicago Bears team. He has put Angelo and Smith into the mix and allowed for spending money in all the right places in order to help build the team into the championship contender. He is one of the best upper management people in the NFL and will help keep this team a contender for many seasons to come.

Overall, the Bears coaching staff and front office are one of the strongest in the NFL and should be very well adept at keeping the Bears a contender in the years to come. Smith has the "ear" of the players and the fans and could become the best coaches to coach the team since the late George Halas. The front office is stable and knows how to find great talent in the draft and in free agency. There should be no reason why the Bears shouldn't be able to contend for the NFL title for the next several seasons.