Lovie Smith - Chicago Bears Head Coach - Signs Contract Extension

Lovie Smith, who last week called off talks between his agent and the Chicago Bears, who Smith has coached for the past three seasons, was finally rewarded for the job he has done coaching, as well as his patience throughout the negotiation process. Smith, it was announced Wednesday night, was inked by the Bears to an extension which will keep him the coach of last season's NFC Super Bowl representative, through the 2011 season.

"As late as down at the combine I thought I made it clear that I thought it would get done, that I hoped it would get done," Smith said on Thursday. This was an abrupt turnaround, since as recently as last week, Frank Bauer - Smith's agent - had said the talks had broken down and that Smith would likely leave the Bears after next season.

"I never thought it was contentious," said Ted Philips, the Bears' team president."It got a little stressful after Frank made his comments, but I chose not to respond publicly. Could it have gotten done quicker if the combine wasn't there? Maybe so."

Phillips said the issue with the negotiations was over money. "There's no leftover hard feelings whatsoever," he said. "You don't take things personally no matter what happens. It was time to get this deal done. It was clear to both of us it was time."

"We did take a beating," Phillips continued, regarding the impression that the Bears are a stingy organization unwilling to reward the team's sucess. "Maybe short term we took a little damage."

The contract details were not immediately reported, but ESPN.com's John Clayton reported that Smith's contract was for $22 million over four years. Under his previous contract, Smith was scheduled to make $1.45 million this year. Under the new deal he will make $3.45 million, with a four-year average of roughly $5.5 million per season.

Said Smith about his team, "We haven't achieved our goal yet, but we have a little bit more time to do it. I feel blessed to be the head football coach of the Chicago Bears. ... I have the best job in the National Football League."

Smith, who was the NFL Coach of the Year for 2005, led the Bears to a 13-3 record. They eventually made it to the Super Bowl - their first time in the NFL championship game since 1985 - where they eventually lost to the Indianapolis Colts.

Sources:

sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story
deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660199852,00.html