Turns out the Bears team that complained about getting no respect since training camp indeed has the perfect coach.
Lovie Smith started the season feeling the same way about his status as the Bears’ head coach after the team turned down his request for a contract extension, a process Smith addressed Thursday in his most expansive comments to date.
Speaking to WSCR-AM 670 reporter Zach Zaidman, also the sideline reporter for the team’s flagship station WBBM-AM 780, Smith acknowledged being the lowest-paid coach in the league and approaching the Bears last summer about changing that.
“I wanted to extend my contract before the season started,” Smith said. “It didn’t happen then. After that, all I could do is put a better product on the field and we’ve been able to do that. I have made it known I would like to be the football coach of the Chicago Bears from now on. All those things will take care of themselves in time.”
The fact Smith felt comfortable at this stage of the season to speak about a topic he has avoided in the past indicates how much leverage he will have when agent Frank Bauer and Bears team President Ted Phillips resume negotiations. Smith reiterated his desire to remain coach of the Bears for many years, but a man with his supply of pride also is unlikely to forget the team telling him no when it comes time to name his price.
He resisted labeling any talks between the Bears and Bauer to date as “negotiations.”
“We never had full-blown negotiations,” Smith said. “If you said when did we start negotiating, before the season started, I wanted a contract then and I was told we were going to wait a little bit longer and that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re on the same plan that we started before the season. As far as shutting down negotiations, that never happened. We’re going to take care of this after the season.”
What about the Cowboys rumors?
“I grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan [and] I’ll always be a Dallas Cowboys fan,” Smith said. “But I am a Chicago Bear and I have no desire to be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. I want to be here . . . and I think that will happen.”
Will it?
Like it or not, the answer will be debated until the ink is dry on a new contract. Here are some answers that don’t require waiting.
What does Rex Grossman have to do to get everyone off his back?
He just did it. Taking a team to the Super Bowl answered the Grossman critics who insisted the Bears couldn’t get there because of his inconsistency. Beating the Saints didn’t suddenly remove the doubts about Grossman’s consistency, but it did justify his reputation as a winner. That’s worth something in the NFL, and could result in the long-term contract extension that moved a few spots higher on the Bears’ 2007 off-season agenda.
With Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek back next season, will they pay for Ian Scott, or will he be priced out of the Bears’ range? I figure Alfonso Boone is gone.
Boone is more expendable than Scott, who played his way into the rotation and became the team’s most dependable interior lineman over the course of the season. It’s hard to imagine writing that about a guy who was inactive for the Buffalo game much to his surprise and dismay. His ability to shelve those feelings and play as if his future was on the line–as it was–makes him an ideal fit for a franchise that professes to value character.
Why do you think so few people — both in Chicago and nationally — have seemed willing to accept how good this Bears team is?
Throughout the season, there was always a sexier team than the Bears. Once, it was the Giants and they imploded. Then the Cowboys became the darlings so much that Bill Parcells’ face was on ESPN in November as much as Dick Vitale’s–or so it seemed. Then it was the Saints’ turn. Blame the media’s short attention span more than anything. Early in the season, after five games, the Bears captured the imagination of local and national observers who didn’t expect them to be so dominant. Once they started to cool off after some key injuries and a couple of bad games by Grossman, they became easy targets.
What is the Bears’ “Love Affair” with Charles Tillman? He got burned yet again in the NFC championship and I won’t be surprised if he costs them the Super Bowl.
Might I suggest TiVo or a VCR so you can watch the Saints game again. Tillman’s work chasing rookie Marques Colston all over the field took away one of the NFC’s best receivers. If Tillman makes a mistake to lose the Super Bowl, he can handle the heat. But without him the Bears might not have enjoyed the type of season they did.
Chicago already is getting salmon and espresso among other things from Seattle and gumbo and jambalaya from New Orleans after the playoff victories. We know we have tons to offer on the food dimension of the game. What can Indy give us?
Good question. As a native Hoosier, I can tell you they like to say there’s more than corn in Indiana. But it would help if somebody could finish that thought.
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IN THE WEB EDITION
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