Lovie Gets His Money

When we heard that Bears president Ted Phillips planned to meet face-to-face with head coach Lovie Smith this afternoon, we had a bad feeling. We feared that a bad situation over Lovie's contract extension would only deteriorate. These types of meetings have a way of getting too personal. What could be said that would make things better? Either Phillips would make up excuses about why the Bears couldn't offer more as much as they really wanted to, or he'd try and convince Lovie that the Bears feel they could succeed even without him. What's there to talk about if Phillips wanted to pay up, right?

However, today's sit-down actually succeeded, because a deal on an extension was announced Wednesday evening. Lovie Smith received a 4-year extension, valued at $22 million. The years will be tacked onto his current deal, so he'll remain the lowest paid head coach in 2007 at $1.45 million, but will average about $4.7 million over the next five seasons.

We're glad to see that the Bears finally gave Lovie the money he deserves. Had they waited until after the season, either they'd have lost him to another team or ended up paying him even more as coaches' salaries continue skyward.

In addition to Smith's new deal, GM Jerry Angelo also received an extension. With the two of them now firmly in place for the next five years (Angelo's deal actually takes him through 2013), the Bears can turn their focus to the beginning of the free agency signing period, the upcoming draft, and enhancing the roster in hopes of actually winning the Super Bowl next year. So who was the ultimate winner in this battle of wills? Chicagoist says it's the Bears fans!