The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Brian Griese will be the starting quarterback against the Lions.

Here’s what Smith said Monday when asked about Griese: “How much confidence do I have [in Griese]? I have confidence in our entire football team. Brian is a part of that. Even after you have a loss like that, at the same time, we all feel bad. We should. But as far as confidence in our football team, I have a lot still. Brian is a part of that.”

That’s good, because if they had kept “Wrecks” Grossman at the helm, I’d have to wonder about the long-term possibilities for head coach Lovie Smith.

A head coach has, essentially, only one real job: to prepare his team to win. If he’s doing that, his job is safe. If he’s not, he should be let go. Lately, Lovie Smith hasn’t been doing that job.

The Bears defense was reasonably prepared coming into Sunday night’s game, but their offense was not. And at half-time, Wade Phillips made positive adjustments to the Cowboys’ game plan while the Bears seemed to step backward.

Also, part of preparing the team to win is giving them confidence. When a problem exists at quarterback — or any other position — and the coach doesn’t make a change, the team loses confidence in his ability to make the decisions necessary to win.

Smith’s unwavering support of “Wrecks” sends the message that he’s not willing to admit his mistake. It’s like hanging onto that stock Enron stock you bought, hoping it will bounce back, rather than cutting your losses and looking for a good stock to start investing.

But sticking with the stock metaphor, I fear that the Bears portfolio is not well diversified. I have little doubt that Griese will fare better than Grossman did, but he lacks the talent to be a long-term solution.

Of the three QBs on Chicago’s roster, I can’t help thinking that the only confidence-inspiring option is third-stringer Kyle Orton, who in spite of lacking any real NFL-level passing skill, has the true grit to make his team believe they can win.