The Bears are receiving plenty of positive remarks for their recent four-year extension ($5 million average) and raising head coach Lovie Smith’s salary this season from $1.45 to $3.5 million. For Smith, it is a well-deserved raise.
However, Smith’s new deal probably will pale in comparison to other elite NFL head coaches, especially if someone like Bill Cowher returns to the sidelines in 2008 for $8-10 million a season.
Also, Smith’s 2007 salary is almost $2 million south of the $5.4 million that Jeff Fisher will cash in Tennessee. And, Fisher could be looking for a $20 million package for the next three seasons if he extends. If he lands that deal, Fisher would be averaging $6.6 million for 2008-2010.
What really hampered Smith in negotiations was how much he already trailed the league’s top coaches. When you’re the lowest-paid head coach in the league, it’s tough to jump into the top ten.
What ever happened to honoring your contract. I am all for making it while you can, if it was good enough to sign in the first place, it is good enough to perform at your best until it is over. Do not cry because you were born a few years earlier than the ones coming out today. They, too, will cry next year.
I am a salesman and ifI do not perform, I don't even get paid, it is path I have chosen and will stay with.
Ron Mlyniec
Lovie never said he wasn't going to finish out the contract. He just wanted the extension, because he wanted to keep coaching in Chicago. If what he says about wanting to coach in Chicago until he hangs it up is true, I hope the Bears make it happen. Outside of Ditka and Halas, Smith has been the best coach the Bears have had in a long time, although Jauron got a raw deal with the stadium upgrades forcing Chicago to play all their games on the road that one season. (Kinda like what happened to the Saints in a way.)
The only one not happy with Lovie's new contract is the media. Lovie is very happy with his new contract and knew it would be worked out, he just got tired of all the media asking the same questions everyday. Lovie took less money to be where he wants to be, the coach of the Chicago Bears, who took a chance on him when others would not. Find something else to write about other than a story that has been beaten to death!
John Czarnecki, a former sportswriter with over 20 years experience covering the NFL, has been the editorial consultant for the Emmy Award-winning FOX NFL Sunday since its 1994 inception. Prior, he provided exclusive information to CBS Sports' The NFL Today program from 1991 to 1993, holding a similar position.
Prior to joining CBS Sports, Czarnecki was a pro football writer for The National Sports Daily (1989-91), The Dallas Morning News (1989), and The Los Angeles Herald-Examin er. An archive of work can be found here.
