The very deserving Chicago Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith got a new 4-year, 22-million contract. More details below:
By The Associated Press
Mar 1, 2007 (AP)— The Chicago Bears decided Lovie Smith was the right coach to lead the team into the next decade with hopefully a few more Super Bowl appearances.
A week after Smith's agent said negotiations were so stalled the coach would probably leave after the 2007 season, the Bears signed Smith to a four-year contract extension through 2011 on Wednesday.
The lowest-paid coach in the NFL last season at $1.35 million when he led the Bears to the Super Bowl, Smith's deal will average about $4.7 million per season over five years. He'll make $22 million in new money and the total value of the five years is $23.45 million, the Chicago Tribune reported. Smith was scheduled to make $1.45 million this season in the final year of his initial four-year contract.
The deal was announced by the team Wednesday night, as was an extension through 2013 for general manager Jerry Angelo.
Smith, the 2005 NFL coach of the year, led the Bears to a 15-4 record and their first NFC championship in more than two decades last season before they lost 29-17 to Indianapolis in the Super Bowl.
Showing posts with label Lovie Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lovie Smith. Show all posts
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Chicago Bears Offer Coach Lovie Smith Less Because He's Black - Chicago Sun-Times
Carol hit it right on the head. It serves as a reminder of the stupidity of racism.
Smith talks make you wonder
Race appears to be factor in contract negotiations
February 27, 2007
BY CAROL SLEZAK Sun-Times Columnist
Is it business as usual for the Bears, or something more? We know that chants of ''cheapskate'' won't shame Ted Phillips or his McCaskey superiors into coming to terms with Lovie Smith on a contract extension. When it comes to lowballing their employees, the Bears really have no shame.
But -- funny thing -- every so often they surprise us by opening up their checkbook. Like in 2003, when they approached middle linebacker Brian Urlacher to talk about a new deal while he still had two years remaining on his original contract. Quicker than you could say, ''He's a Bear for life,'' they locked up Urlacher through 2011. The $56.65 million deal included a $13 million signing bonus, an additional $6 million in roster bonuses and an 18-person suite at Soldier Field. The model for the deal was the $49 million contract that Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis had signed the year before.
''We're very, very comfortable with these numbers,'' general manager Jerry Angelo said at the time about Urlacher's contract.
So why is it so difficult to find a comfort level with Smith? Last year, Phillips said he needed to see more of Smith. Funny, all it took for the Bears to extend Dick Jauron's contract was one winning season. Based on the team's success in 2001, when it went 13-3, Jauron got a new four-year deal in 2002 reportedly worth more than $2 million a season, or more than double his original contract that had paid him $1 million a season.
''It's a fair deal,'' Phillips said. ''Tearing up Dick's last year was the smart thing to do in recognition of the job he did.''
A proven commodity
It turned out to be a bad decision. But then, Smith is not Jauron. I wonder, has Phillips seen enough of Smith yet? Because everyone else knows what Smith has accomplished in the last two seasons, beginning with two division titles and ending with an NFC championship. And everyone else knows what other head coaches are being paid. First-year head coaches Bobby Petrino ($4.8 million a season) and Cam Cameron ($2.5 million), for instance. Career underachievers Norv Turner (in excess of $3 million) and Wade Phillips (between $2M and $3M). And other recent Super Bowl coaches, such as Tony Dungy ($5M), Jeff Fisher ($5.4M), Brian Billick ($5.7M) and Mike Holmgren ($8M).
Smith, who is scheduled to make a league-low $1.45 million next season, has coached his way into the $5 million range. The Bears had no problem ripping up Urlacher's contract to pay him Ray Lewis money. Why are they having such a problem committing Jeff Fisher or Brian Billick money to Smith? He's the best coach the Bears have had since Mike Ditka, and he might be better than Ditka in the long run. Yet, as Smith reminded us last week, he has ''been trying to get a contract done since the start of last year.''
The picture that has emerged, while still blurry, gives rise to a legitimate question: Is Smith's race a factor in the Bears' hesitancy to pay him? If Smith, an African American, were white, would the deal have been done long ago? I'm sure the Bears would rather be called cheap than prejudiced. But they've opened themselves up to this scrutiny by their mishandling of Smith's negotiations.
Ordinarily a coach's contract would not give rise to concern in February, especially when the coach has a year left on his original deal, as Smith does. But Smith's situation is hardly ordinary. He was the NFL coach of the year in 2005, and he brought his team to the Super Bowl in 2006. The Bears have said they want to keep him around, yet they seem to be doing their best to alienate him. At last report, they had offered Smith less than $3.5 million a year. The entire league is wondering what's wrong in Chicago. Damage already has been done.
Smith isn't the only one feeling disenfranchised these days. Instead of an Urlacher-type deal, linebacker Lance Briggs got slapped with the franchise tag. Meaning the Bears want Briggs, who made the Pro Bowl the last two seasons, but they don't want to pay him what he's worth. A reminder, perhaps, that there can be only one face of the Bears, and the Bears have chosen Urlacher.
Lovie's got it coming
The Bears have the right to make their own decisions. But they must know that those decisions will be viewed in a broader context, as they should be. Sports have become a measuring stick for many societal issues. Just last week, for instance, Wimbledon finally recognized that women deserved the same prize money as men. The actual differential between the women's and men's prizes had been shrinking over the years; the paycheck for the women's champ -- $1.117 million -- was about 95 percent of the $1.17 million won by the men's champ last year. But it was still important, if only symbolically, to equalize the prizes.
It's just as important for the Bears to give Smith his due.
Fortunately for the Bears, the organization's long history of penny-pinching has many describing their treatment of Smith as business as usual. But is that really all that's going on here? I'm not so sure.
Smith talks make you wonder
Race appears to be factor in contract negotiations
February 27, 2007
BY CAROL SLEZAK Sun-Times Columnist
Is it business as usual for the Bears, or something more? We know that chants of ''cheapskate'' won't shame Ted Phillips or his McCaskey superiors into coming to terms with Lovie Smith on a contract extension. When it comes to lowballing their employees, the Bears really have no shame.
But -- funny thing -- every so often they surprise us by opening up their checkbook. Like in 2003, when they approached middle linebacker Brian Urlacher to talk about a new deal while he still had two years remaining on his original contract. Quicker than you could say, ''He's a Bear for life,'' they locked up Urlacher through 2011. The $56.65 million deal included a $13 million signing bonus, an additional $6 million in roster bonuses and an 18-person suite at Soldier Field. The model for the deal was the $49 million contract that Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis had signed the year before.
''We're very, very comfortable with these numbers,'' general manager Jerry Angelo said at the time about Urlacher's contract.
So why is it so difficult to find a comfort level with Smith? Last year, Phillips said he needed to see more of Smith. Funny, all it took for the Bears to extend Dick Jauron's contract was one winning season. Based on the team's success in 2001, when it went 13-3, Jauron got a new four-year deal in 2002 reportedly worth more than $2 million a season, or more than double his original contract that had paid him $1 million a season.
''It's a fair deal,'' Phillips said. ''Tearing up Dick's last year was the smart thing to do in recognition of the job he did.''
A proven commodity
It turned out to be a bad decision. But then, Smith is not Jauron. I wonder, has Phillips seen enough of Smith yet? Because everyone else knows what Smith has accomplished in the last two seasons, beginning with two division titles and ending with an NFC championship. And everyone else knows what other head coaches are being paid. First-year head coaches Bobby Petrino ($4.8 million a season) and Cam Cameron ($2.5 million), for instance. Career underachievers Norv Turner (in excess of $3 million) and Wade Phillips (between $2M and $3M). And other recent Super Bowl coaches, such as Tony Dungy ($5M), Jeff Fisher ($5.4M), Brian Billick ($5.7M) and Mike Holmgren ($8M).
Smith, who is scheduled to make a league-low $1.45 million next season, has coached his way into the $5 million range. The Bears had no problem ripping up Urlacher's contract to pay him Ray Lewis money. Why are they having such a problem committing Jeff Fisher or Brian Billick money to Smith? He's the best coach the Bears have had since Mike Ditka, and he might be better than Ditka in the long run. Yet, as Smith reminded us last week, he has ''been trying to get a contract done since the start of last year.''
The picture that has emerged, while still blurry, gives rise to a legitimate question: Is Smith's race a factor in the Bears' hesitancy to pay him? If Smith, an African American, were white, would the deal have been done long ago? I'm sure the Bears would rather be called cheap than prejudiced. But they've opened themselves up to this scrutiny by their mishandling of Smith's negotiations.
Ordinarily a coach's contract would not give rise to concern in February, especially when the coach has a year left on his original deal, as Smith does. But Smith's situation is hardly ordinary. He was the NFL coach of the year in 2005, and he brought his team to the Super Bowl in 2006. The Bears have said they want to keep him around, yet they seem to be doing their best to alienate him. At last report, they had offered Smith less than $3.5 million a year. The entire league is wondering what's wrong in Chicago. Damage already has been done.
Smith isn't the only one feeling disenfranchised these days. Instead of an Urlacher-type deal, linebacker Lance Briggs got slapped with the franchise tag. Meaning the Bears want Briggs, who made the Pro Bowl the last two seasons, but they don't want to pay him what he's worth. A reminder, perhaps, that there can be only one face of the Bears, and the Bears have chosen Urlacher.
Lovie's got it coming
The Bears have the right to make their own decisions. But they must know that those decisions will be viewed in a broader context, as they should be. Sports have become a measuring stick for many societal issues. Just last week, for instance, Wimbledon finally recognized that women deserved the same prize money as men. The actual differential between the women's and men's prizes had been shrinking over the years; the paycheck for the women's champ -- $1.117 million -- was about 95 percent of the $1.17 million won by the men's champ last year. But it was still important, if only symbolically, to equalize the prizes.
It's just as important for the Bears to give Smith his due.
Fortunately for the Bears, the organization's long history of penny-pinching has many describing their treatment of Smith as business as usual. But is that really all that's going on here? I'm not so sure.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Chicago Bears Not Given Head Coach Lovie Smith New Contract; Team Upset - Profootballtalk.com
Profootballtalk.com reports on this terrible state of affairs.
MUTINY BREWING IN CHICAGO - Profootball talk.com
Keep a close eye on the situation in Chicago, where the Bears have still not given coach Lovie Smith a new contract, and where there is no evidence that significant discussions between the team and the Super Bowl coach aimed at extending the deal that expires after the 2007 have begun in earnest.
A source with knowledge of the situation tells us that some members of the team have agreed among themselves to refuse to do any contract extensions or restructurings until Smith gets rewarded for the team's performance on his watch.
And there's also an intention among some of the players to be candid with the free agents whom the Bears plan to target in March, with some current Bears players ready and willing to tell any new recruits not to count on Smith being around in 2008.
We think the team should move very quickly to lock Lovie up for the next four or five years, at $4 million or so per season. That's fair value for a guy who has one Super Bowl appearance and three years of total head-coaching experience.
The sticking point could be that the Bears hope Smith will have reduced expectations because the team lost in the Super Bowl. Then again, the guy who lost Super Bowl XL ended up with an extension that reportedly pays him $7.5 million to $8.5 million per year.
Smith would have had more leverage if he'd tried to do a new deal in the dead week before Super Bowl preparations, since there was a much better overall feeling in the air about the Bears and their coach before the team put on a so-so at best performance in the February 4 loss to the Colts. But Smith gambled that the Bears would win the Super Bowl, which might have put him in line for a deal worth more than $5 million per season.
MUTINY BREWING IN CHICAGO - Profootball talk.com
Keep a close eye on the situation in Chicago, where the Bears have still not given coach Lovie Smith a new contract, and where there is no evidence that significant discussions between the team and the Super Bowl coach aimed at extending the deal that expires after the 2007 have begun in earnest.
A source with knowledge of the situation tells us that some members of the team have agreed among themselves to refuse to do any contract extensions or restructurings until Smith gets rewarded for the team's performance on his watch.
And there's also an intention among some of the players to be candid with the free agents whom the Bears plan to target in March, with some current Bears players ready and willing to tell any new recruits not to count on Smith being around in 2008.
We think the team should move very quickly to lock Lovie up for the next four or five years, at $4 million or so per season. That's fair value for a guy who has one Super Bowl appearance and three years of total head-coaching experience.
The sticking point could be that the Bears hope Smith will have reduced expectations because the team lost in the Super Bowl. Then again, the guy who lost Super Bowl XL ended up with an extension that reportedly pays him $7.5 million to $8.5 million per year.
Smith would have had more leverage if he'd tried to do a new deal in the dead week before Super Bowl preparations, since there was a much better overall feeling in the air about the Bears and their coach before the team put on a so-so at best performance in the February 4 loss to the Colts. But Smith gambled that the Bears would win the Super Bowl, which might have put him in line for a deal worth more than $5 million per season.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
A Little More on Minority Hiring In Football
A Little extension on Zennie's Impassioned Plea from the other day. See My take at the end.
Johnette Howard
SPORTS COLUMNIST
Time to get schooled on college hiring
January 24, 2007
When Chicago's Lovie Smith and Indianapolis' Tony Dungy meet with thousands of reporters in Miami next week and field questions about being the first two African-American head coaches to take their teams to the Super Bowl, it would be terrific if both men used the platform they'll have to steer the conversation away from the NFL, and toward college football's most outrageous, longest-running disgrace.
Did you know of the 119 NCAA schools that play Division I-A football, only six head coaches are African-American - one fewer than the NFL had last season despite having only 32 teams?
If that weren't already shameful enough to the NCAA, the NFL has progressed to a point where it has retread black coaches. They are Dennis Green, Art Shell, Herman Edwards and even Dungy, if you want to call him that, for the way Indy hired him after Tampa pushed him aside for Jon Gruden.
Though Green and Shell left their teams in the past month, the last two weeks still have been progressive ones for the NFL. In addition to Smith and Dungy's Super Bowl breakthroughs, the Giants made Jerry Reese their first African-American general manager and the Steelers selected 34-year-old Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as their first African-American head coach.
College football's numbers are an outrage, by comparison. While the NFL's progress is directly traceable to the concerted push the league has made in the last decade since its passage of the Rooney Rule on minority hiring, NCAA schools - a notoriously fractious bunch - have plodded along rather than seriously consider an obvious question:
Would some version of the Rooney Rule - in which NFL teams are required to interview minority candidates - work for them?
Eugene Marshall Jr., deputy athletic director at the United States Military Academy at West Point and president of the board of directors of the Black Coaches Association, says the excuses the BCA hears about the lack of minority hires remain the same year to year: "There's not enough people out there ... The pool is weak ... They don't have enough experience ... They've never been a head coach."
"But I can tell you," says Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA's vice president of diversity and inclusion, "the lack of hiring is not happening because of a lack of qualified minority candidates."
So what is the holdback?
A few things, it turns out.
"What it really comes down to are schools' funding people and alumni," Marshall said. "Will fundraisers hire people [of color] to run these places where they spend their money? And in some cases, the answer is still no. We are seeing progress. It's just been far slower here."
For the past three years, the BCA has issued an annual Minority Hiring report card for college football's top two divisions to put a greater spotlight on the problem.
The BCA isn't demanding that minorities be hired for every college head coaching position. In the spirit of the Rooney Rule, what the BCA asks is that minorities be considered as head coaching and athletic director candidates, that minorities are included on the search committees that hire them, things like that. And, Westerhaus says, the NCAA leadership supports and works toward the same goals.
But one difference between the NCAA and NFL is significant: NCAA schools have no hammer hanging over them, while the NFL's Rooney Rule has teeth. The Detroit Lions were fined $200,000 when general manager Matt Millen ignored the league's directives and hired Steve Mariucci.
While Marshall believes accountability is needed in the college ranks, Westerhaus disputes the notion - advanced by the BCA, among others - that the fear of penalties is why the NFL is hiring more minorities more quickly. Westerhaus argues that the NFL's progress is traceable to making the hiring process itself "more and more inclusive" rather than "penalties, penalties, penalties - that's not why the Rooney Rule works."
Oh? It's hard not to notice how the NFL has changed since the Rooney Rule came along while the NCAA has made only glacial progress by urging its schools to do the right thing.
Westerhaus goes on to point out that even if the NCAA regarded penalties as important, getting some binding standards adopted would be extremely difficult because all member schools autonomously set their own institution-wide hiring practices.
But look: Exceptions have been made before. All universities set their own academic honor codes, but the NCAA has approved mechanisms to take back bowl money and scholarships when athletic programs cheat. The NCAA already has passed measures in which member schools can lose athletic scholarships if their sports programs don't meet a list of criterion that include acceptable graduation rates.
Why can't or shouldn't the hiring of minorities be treated with the same import? Why haven't incentives or penalties even been put to a vote?
College sports haven't been held to the fire nearly enough on minority hiring.
The sight of Dungy and Smith taking a stand in the next two weeks would be a sensational boost.
Minority report
Six of 119 head football coaches in Division 1-A are black (5%)
Coach School
Sylvester Croom Mississippi State
Karl Dorrell UCLA
Turner Gill Buffalo
Ron Price Kansas State
Tyrone Willingham Washington
Randy Shannon Miami
Six of 32 head coaches in the NFL are black (18.8%)
Coach Team
Romeo Crennel Cleveland Browns
Tony Dungy Indianapolis Colts
Herman Edwards Kansas City Chiefs
Marvin Lewis Cincinnati Bengals
Lovie Smith Chicago Bears
Mike Tomlin Pittsburgh Steelers
and my feelings on the subject: Zennie and I have been going back and forth the last day+ about this. I agree with Both Zennie's Prior post regarding the Raiders' Most recent Hire, and in general that Minority Hiring Practices In the NFL, NCAA, and several other Sports governing bodies are far behind the times. However, most of what Ms. Howard says in this piece above also makes sense. In college, the people holding the purse strings don't always want to embrace change, even if it's the right thing to do. I'm lucky enough to work for one of the Nicest, Smartest football people i ever met. He also just happens to be an African American. But NYC is ahead of the curve on such things, in both the public and private sector.
I also feel that it shouldn't be "Equality" for some, it should be Equality for ALL....
And Yes: there are PLENTY of Capable Minority assistant coaches at the College level(and High School) who are qualified to be head coaches.
Johnette Howard
SPORTS COLUMNIST
Time to get schooled on college hiring
January 24, 2007
When Chicago's Lovie Smith and Indianapolis' Tony Dungy meet with thousands of reporters in Miami next week and field questions about being the first two African-American head coaches to take their teams to the Super Bowl, it would be terrific if both men used the platform they'll have to steer the conversation away from the NFL, and toward college football's most outrageous, longest-running disgrace.
Did you know of the 119 NCAA schools that play Division I-A football, only six head coaches are African-American - one fewer than the NFL had last season despite having only 32 teams?
If that weren't already shameful enough to the NCAA, the NFL has progressed to a point where it has retread black coaches. They are Dennis Green, Art Shell, Herman Edwards and even Dungy, if you want to call him that, for the way Indy hired him after Tampa pushed him aside for Jon Gruden.
Though Green and Shell left their teams in the past month, the last two weeks still have been progressive ones for the NFL. In addition to Smith and Dungy's Super Bowl breakthroughs, the Giants made Jerry Reese their first African-American general manager and the Steelers selected 34-year-old Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as their first African-American head coach.
College football's numbers are an outrage, by comparison. While the NFL's progress is directly traceable to the concerted push the league has made in the last decade since its passage of the Rooney Rule on minority hiring, NCAA schools - a notoriously fractious bunch - have plodded along rather than seriously consider an obvious question:
Would some version of the Rooney Rule - in which NFL teams are required to interview minority candidates - work for them?
Eugene Marshall Jr., deputy athletic director at the United States Military Academy at West Point and president of the board of directors of the Black Coaches Association, says the excuses the BCA hears about the lack of minority hires remain the same year to year: "There's not enough people out there ... The pool is weak ... They don't have enough experience ... They've never been a head coach."
"But I can tell you," says Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA's vice president of diversity and inclusion, "the lack of hiring is not happening because of a lack of qualified minority candidates."
So what is the holdback?
A few things, it turns out.
"What it really comes down to are schools' funding people and alumni," Marshall said. "Will fundraisers hire people [of color] to run these places where they spend their money? And in some cases, the answer is still no. We are seeing progress. It's just been far slower here."
For the past three years, the BCA has issued an annual Minority Hiring report card for college football's top two divisions to put a greater spotlight on the problem.
The BCA isn't demanding that minorities be hired for every college head coaching position. In the spirit of the Rooney Rule, what the BCA asks is that minorities be considered as head coaching and athletic director candidates, that minorities are included on the search committees that hire them, things like that. And, Westerhaus says, the NCAA leadership supports and works toward the same goals.
But one difference between the NCAA and NFL is significant: NCAA schools have no hammer hanging over them, while the NFL's Rooney Rule has teeth. The Detroit Lions were fined $200,000 when general manager Matt Millen ignored the league's directives and hired Steve Mariucci.
While Marshall believes accountability is needed in the college ranks, Westerhaus disputes the notion - advanced by the BCA, among others - that the fear of penalties is why the NFL is hiring more minorities more quickly. Westerhaus argues that the NFL's progress is traceable to making the hiring process itself "more and more inclusive" rather than "penalties, penalties, penalties - that's not why the Rooney Rule works."
Oh? It's hard not to notice how the NFL has changed since the Rooney Rule came along while the NCAA has made only glacial progress by urging its schools to do the right thing.
Westerhaus goes on to point out that even if the NCAA regarded penalties as important, getting some binding standards adopted would be extremely difficult because all member schools autonomously set their own institution-wide hiring practices.
But look: Exceptions have been made before. All universities set their own academic honor codes, but the NCAA has approved mechanisms to take back bowl money and scholarships when athletic programs cheat. The NCAA already has passed measures in which member schools can lose athletic scholarships if their sports programs don't meet a list of criterion that include acceptable graduation rates.
Why can't or shouldn't the hiring of minorities be treated with the same import? Why haven't incentives or penalties even been put to a vote?
College sports haven't been held to the fire nearly enough on minority hiring.
The sight of Dungy and Smith taking a stand in the next two weeks would be a sensational boost.
Minority report
Six of 119 head football coaches in Division 1-A are black (5%)
Coach School
Sylvester Croom Mississippi State
Karl Dorrell UCLA
Turner Gill Buffalo
Ron Price Kansas State
Tyrone Willingham Washington
Randy Shannon Miami
Six of 32 head coaches in the NFL are black (18.8%)
Coach Team
Romeo Crennel Cleveland Browns
Tony Dungy Indianapolis Colts
Herman Edwards Kansas City Chiefs
Marvin Lewis Cincinnati Bengals
Lovie Smith Chicago Bears
Mike Tomlin Pittsburgh Steelers
and my feelings on the subject: Zennie and I have been going back and forth the last day+ about this. I agree with Both Zennie's Prior post regarding the Raiders' Most recent Hire, and in general that Minority Hiring Practices In the NFL, NCAA, and several other Sports governing bodies are far behind the times. However, most of what Ms. Howard says in this piece above also makes sense. In college, the people holding the purse strings don't always want to embrace change, even if it's the right thing to do. I'm lucky enough to work for one of the Nicest, Smartest football people i ever met. He also just happens to be an African American. But NYC is ahead of the curve on such things, in both the public and private sector.
I also feel that it shouldn't be "Equality" for some, it should be Equality for ALL....
And Yes: there are PLENTY of Capable Minority assistant coaches at the College level(and High School) who are qualified to be head coaches.
Monday, January 22, 2007
ESPN's John Clayton: Lovie Smith, Tony Dungy Will make Classy Super Bowl
Smith, Dungy will make this a classy Super Bowl
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
Archive
CHICAGO -- On the Friday evening before the start of the AFC playoffs, Bears coach Lovie Smith had dinner in Indianapolis with his close friends, Tony Dungy and Herman Edwards, before the two squared off for their first-round playoff game between the Colts and Chiefs.
His Bears in a bye week, Smith sensed history. The three African-American coaches, devoted Christians and family men, were striving for the Super Bowl. Smith and Edwards learned NFL coaching from Dungy, their mentor when they worked for him with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a special moment.
NFL arrives
Lovie Smith taking on Tony Dungy marks only the second time in the four major sports that the championship has both teams led by a black head coach/manager. In 1975, Al Attles' Warriors defeated KC Jones' Bullets in the NBA Finals. Here's the list of black coaches in championships:
NBA
Year Coach Result
2006 Avery Johnson, Mavs Lost 4-2
2003 Byron Scott, Nets Lost 4-2
2002 Byron Scott, Nets Lost 4-0
1986 KC Jones, Celtics Won 4-2
1985 KC Jones, Celtics Lost 4-2
1984 KC Jones, Celtics Won 4-3
1979 Lenny Wilkens, Sonics Won 4-1
1978 Lenny Wilkens, Sonics Lost 4-3
1975 Al Attles, Warriors Won 4-0
1975 KC Jones, Bullets Lost 4-0
1969 Bill Russell, Celtics Won 4-3
1968 Bill Russell, Celtics Won 4-2
MLB
2002 Dusty Baker, Giants Lost 4-3
1993 Cito Gaston, Jays Won 4-2
1992 Cito Gaston, Jays Won 4-2
Super Bowl XLI will be even more special. Dungy's Colts, who beat the Patriots 38-34 in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, will meet Lovie's Bears. The NFL has been waiting 41 years for the first African-American head coach to patrol the sidelines at a Super Bowl. Now there will be two, and one will be the winner. Actually, the nation will be the winner in this one.
"You always talk about it,'' Dungy said of the chance to be the first African-American head coach in the Super Bowl. "When [Smith] took the job in Chicago, I said, 'I'm happy you are going to the NFC and maybe we can play against each other.' When we had dinner three weeks ago, he and I and Herm were still in it. We talked about maybe two of us will play against each other. You hope it happens. It's going to be great going against them. They are a great team.''
Hopefully, Edwards, the Chiefs' head coach, will make it to Miami. How can he miss it? This is history.
"We had a chance to visit for about two hours,'' Dungy said of the family dinner with Smith and Edwards before the playoffs. "We talked about how we really got started in 1996 in Tampa. Some things don't change, the things that Lovie, Herm and I believe in. That's the exciting thing for me. I'm so happy Lovie got there because he does things the right way. He's going to get there with a lot of class, no profanity, no intimidation, just helping his guys play the best that they can. That's the way I try to do it."
Super Bowl XLI will be all about class. Peyton Manning finally made it to his first Super Bowl after nine years. Manning's Colts are a seven-point favorite in a game that might be considered the biggest quarterback mismatch in a long time. Manning is the game's top quarterback. The Bears' Rex Grossman always seems to be a pass away from being benched in favor of Brian Griese.
This is the Super Bowl matchup that has defied the odds. The favorite could be the first Super Bowl winner since 1983 that didn't finish in the top 10 in scoring defense. Toward the end of the season, the Colts and Bears, both of whom have undersized Cover 2 defenses, were consistently gashed on the ground. The Colts are among the worst run defenses in NFL history.
"Everybody was thinking the 3-4 defenses were the best thing since sliced bread,'' Colts defensive tackle Anthony McFarland said. "In the end, you have two Tampa 2 or Minnesota Cover 2 or whatever you call it going against each other. Both teams are small. Both teams have fast linebackers and fast defensive linemen."
Dungy and Smith are all about simplicity. In an age of complexity, the Cover 2 relies on simplicity. Instead of getting lost in a playbook of zone blitzes and multiple reads and confusing coverages, Dungy and Smith devise schemes in which fast, quick linebackers simply make plays.
Dungy and Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin developed the Cover 2 when they were together in Minnesota working for Dennis Green. Dungy made the Cover 2 a staple when he brought Kiffin to Tampa Bay and turned the Bucs into a dominating defense. Players loved it. A middle linebacker might drop back into coverage to give a Cover 3 look, but Dungy set up the defense so players made plays.
In Super Bowl XLI, you will see fast, undersized players flying around the field as if they are in fast forward. Many doubted the Colts' ability to go to the Super Bowl because of their poor regular-season run defense. They figured Larry Johnson, Jamal Lewis and others would treat the Colts' defense like speed bumps.
Dungy didn't panic. He made minor adjustments. McFarland started to come on as the biggest defensive tackle. Linebacker Rob Morris helped out on the strong side. Safety Bob Sanders returned from a knee injury to charge up from the secondary to knock down backs.
"It's about attitude and intensity," defensive end Dwight Freeney said. "It's not always about X's and O's and perfect defense. Guys weren't making plays [during the Colts' slump]. That's why you see an 80- or a 60-yard run. Even if a guy doesn't happen to make a play now, another guy is there to help. We are doing the same thing we've always done. Now, guys finally got it in their heads that we've got to be accountable. ''
Super Bowl XLI is about simplicity. Playmakers make plays. That's the defensive philosophies of Dungy and Smith. They try to find the best athletes. Then they coach them up and let them loose on the field. On the sidelines, neither coach panics, something Manning appreciates.
"That's something I've said since Coach Dungy has been here," Manning said. "He's calm on opening kickoff, and he's calm when you're down 21-3. … He's just a cool customer. I think that really spreads through the rest of the team, that it cannot be a panic situation and you can't try to get it all back at once.''
Patience is a virtue, which translates into a matchup of two class people who meet as friends in Super Bowl XLI.
John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
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CHICAGO -- On the Friday evening before the start of the AFC playoffs, Bears coach Lovie Smith had dinner in Indianapolis with his close friends, Tony Dungy and Herman Edwards, before the two squared off for their first-round playoff game between the Colts and Chiefs.
His Bears in a bye week, Smith sensed history. The three African-American coaches, devoted Christians and family men, were striving for the Super Bowl. Smith and Edwards learned NFL coaching from Dungy, their mentor when they worked for him with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a special moment.
NFL arrives
Lovie Smith taking on Tony Dungy marks only the second time in the four major sports that the championship has both teams led by a black head coach/manager. In 1975, Al Attles' Warriors defeated KC Jones' Bullets in the NBA Finals. Here's the list of black coaches in championships:
NBA
Year Coach Result
2006 Avery Johnson, Mavs Lost 4-2
2003 Byron Scott, Nets Lost 4-2
2002 Byron Scott, Nets Lost 4-0
1986 KC Jones, Celtics Won 4-2
1985 KC Jones, Celtics Lost 4-2
1984 KC Jones, Celtics Won 4-3
1979 Lenny Wilkens, Sonics Won 4-1
1978 Lenny Wilkens, Sonics Lost 4-3
1975 Al Attles, Warriors Won 4-0
1975 KC Jones, Bullets Lost 4-0
1969 Bill Russell, Celtics Won 4-3
1968 Bill Russell, Celtics Won 4-2
MLB
2002 Dusty Baker, Giants Lost 4-3
1993 Cito Gaston, Jays Won 4-2
1992 Cito Gaston, Jays Won 4-2
Super Bowl XLI will be even more special. Dungy's Colts, who beat the Patriots 38-34 in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, will meet Lovie's Bears. The NFL has been waiting 41 years for the first African-American head coach to patrol the sidelines at a Super Bowl. Now there will be two, and one will be the winner. Actually, the nation will be the winner in this one.
"You always talk about it,'' Dungy said of the chance to be the first African-American head coach in the Super Bowl. "When [Smith] took the job in Chicago, I said, 'I'm happy you are going to the NFC and maybe we can play against each other.' When we had dinner three weeks ago, he and I and Herm were still in it. We talked about maybe two of us will play against each other. You hope it happens. It's going to be great going against them. They are a great team.''
Hopefully, Edwards, the Chiefs' head coach, will make it to Miami. How can he miss it? This is history.
"We had a chance to visit for about two hours,'' Dungy said of the family dinner with Smith and Edwards before the playoffs. "We talked about how we really got started in 1996 in Tampa. Some things don't change, the things that Lovie, Herm and I believe in. That's the exciting thing for me. I'm so happy Lovie got there because he does things the right way. He's going to get there with a lot of class, no profanity, no intimidation, just helping his guys play the best that they can. That's the way I try to do it."
Super Bowl XLI will be all about class. Peyton Manning finally made it to his first Super Bowl after nine years. Manning's Colts are a seven-point favorite in a game that might be considered the biggest quarterback mismatch in a long time. Manning is the game's top quarterback. The Bears' Rex Grossman always seems to be a pass away from being benched in favor of Brian Griese.
This is the Super Bowl matchup that has defied the odds. The favorite could be the first Super Bowl winner since 1983 that didn't finish in the top 10 in scoring defense. Toward the end of the season, the Colts and Bears, both of whom have undersized Cover 2 defenses, were consistently gashed on the ground. The Colts are among the worst run defenses in NFL history.
"Everybody was thinking the 3-4 defenses were the best thing since sliced bread,'' Colts defensive tackle Anthony McFarland said. "In the end, you have two Tampa 2 or Minnesota Cover 2 or whatever you call it going against each other. Both teams are small. Both teams have fast linebackers and fast defensive linemen."
Dungy and Smith are all about simplicity. In an age of complexity, the Cover 2 relies on simplicity. Instead of getting lost in a playbook of zone blitzes and multiple reads and confusing coverages, Dungy and Smith devise schemes in which fast, quick linebackers simply make plays.
Dungy and Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin developed the Cover 2 when they were together in Minnesota working for Dennis Green. Dungy made the Cover 2 a staple when he brought Kiffin to Tampa Bay and turned the Bucs into a dominating defense. Players loved it. A middle linebacker might drop back into coverage to give a Cover 3 look, but Dungy set up the defense so players made plays.
In Super Bowl XLI, you will see fast, undersized players flying around the field as if they are in fast forward. Many doubted the Colts' ability to go to the Super Bowl because of their poor regular-season run defense. They figured Larry Johnson, Jamal Lewis and others would treat the Colts' defense like speed bumps.
Dungy didn't panic. He made minor adjustments. McFarland started to come on as the biggest defensive tackle. Linebacker Rob Morris helped out on the strong side. Safety Bob Sanders returned from a knee injury to charge up from the secondary to knock down backs.
"It's about attitude and intensity," defensive end Dwight Freeney said. "It's not always about X's and O's and perfect defense. Guys weren't making plays [during the Colts' slump]. That's why you see an 80- or a 60-yard run. Even if a guy doesn't happen to make a play now, another guy is there to help. We are doing the same thing we've always done. Now, guys finally got it in their heads that we've got to be accountable. ''
Super Bowl XLI is about simplicity. Playmakers make plays. That's the defensive philosophies of Dungy and Smith. They try to find the best athletes. Then they coach them up and let them loose on the field. On the sidelines, neither coach panics, something Manning appreciates.
"That's something I've said since Coach Dungy has been here," Manning said. "He's calm on opening kickoff, and he's calm when you're down 21-3. … He's just a cool customer. I think that really spreads through the rest of the team, that it cannot be a panic situation and you can't try to get it all back at once.''
Patience is a virtue, which translates into a matchup of two class people who meet as friends in Super Bowl XLI.
John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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