Three of them have Chicago connections: Johnson was born in Maywood and grew up in the area; Ryan is the son of former Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan; and Rivera is a former Bears linebacker and was their defensive coordinator during the 2006 Super Bowl season.

Watching cut-away shots of Rivera on the San Diego sideline should have been difficult for Bears fans because it served as a reminder of one of the reasons the team is on the outside looking in at the playoffs for the second straight season. Would the Bears have been a playoff team with Rivera still here? There is no way of knowing for sure, but one thing is certain: The Bears haven't been a playoff team since Rivera was sent on his way and Bob Babich was promoted to defensive coordinator.

In fact, the defense has fallen from a No. 5 league ranking in 2006 to No. 28 last year and No. 21 this past season. That's not quite what the Bears had in mind when they invested more salary-cap space than any team other than Baltimore in their 2008 defense.

Babich, it would seem, has made his position untenable, yet the response so far from Halas Hall has been to send defensive backs coach Steve Wilks packing. Word is defensive line coach Brick Haley has accepted the same position with LSU and will follow Wilks out the door, albeit with a raise and arguably a better job.

Where's the accountability?

The Bears replaced Rivera when they were having success and now won't do the same with Babich despite not having success. Where is the accountability? Babich is a close friend of coach Lovie Smith and the only coach Smith brought with him from St. Louis in 2004. Babich has received two promotions, first adding the assistant head coach title to his job as linebackers coach, then to defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. He has received a bump in pay with each promotion and is believed to be the highest-paid assistant on Smith's staff.

The Bears have built their program on continuity in the starting lineup, losing only wide receiver Bernard Berrian during Smith's tenure in terms of starters they wanted to bring back. Pity they haven't been able to do the same with their coaching staff. Smith now will look for his fourth defensive line coach, presumably Rod Marinelli, and is looking for his fourth defensive backs coach.

Don't forget Rivera wanted to bring Leslie Frazier to Chicago, but the move was rejected by Smith. Frazier, another former Bears player, is now the defensive coordinator in Minnesota and will be interviewing for head-coaching jobs.

Here are a few other observations from wild-card weekend:

- You need two running backs to win. Everybody left in the playoffs has more than one player to turn to in the running game. Take the Cardinals, who failed to run the ball effectively all year. Edgerrin James, who had been talking about his final days in Arizona, got a surprise start against Atlanta and wound up outrushing Michael Turner 73-42. ''The Edge'' lost his starting job at midseason to rookie Tim Hightower and has a lot of miles on his legs, but he looked pretty fresh Saturday. Can he do it again at Carolina? It will be a huge key for the Cardinals, who always look outmatched away from home.

San Diego rolls with Sproles

- San Diego's Darren Sproles likely made himself some money in the Chargers' overtime victory against Indianapolis. A soon-to-be free agent, the 5-6 Sproles came in for LaDainian Tomlinson -- who was limited to five carries by a groin injury -- and finished with 328 all-purpose yards, including 105 rushing with two touchdowns. Tomlinson is a great player, but he has broken down at the end of the year in two straight seasons. The Chargers won without their two best players: Tomlinson and linebacker Shawn Merriman, who was lost to a knee injury early in the season.

- Two road teams won Sunday, and they had something in common -- great defense and a defensive touchdown. Asante Samuel scored on an interception return for Philadelphia, and Ed Reed did the same for Baltimore. ''Defense travels'' is the old adage of playoff Football. That's why Eagles at Giants and Ravens at Titans should be great games in next week's divisional round.

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