The Bears Do Right By Lovie Smith

On (Chicago)Sun-Times.com today:

Phillips had no choice but to show Lovie the money

BY JAY MARIOTTI
Sun-Times Columnist

“It’s a peaceful place of business, Halas Hall, surrounded by trees and chirping birds and only occasionally disrupted by a train whistle. But as a bunker, it doesn’t work, not when angry fans and disgusted media turn a post-Super Bowl mourning period into a protest march. The Bears didn’t have a chance in the public arena when it came to Lovie Smith’s contract impasse, which overwhelmed them like the Indianapolis offense.

“They were battered in the papers, skewered on the radio, ripped on national TV shows. They were called cheap, petty, unfair, inhumane, even racist. You could say team boss Ted Phillips at least had family and friends on his side, but it might not have been true. Unless Tightwad Ted and various McCaskeys wanted to walk around town in camouflage for the rest of their lives, they had no choice but to reward Smith with a market-value contract.

“Wednesday night, after too many tense days and contentious negotiating sessions, they finally buckled. A deal that should have been cut weeks before the Super Bowl finally got done on the last day of February, with Smith agreeing to a four-year, $22 million extension that must have had Phillips cringing, cussing and crying for a straitjacket. They can talk all they want today about how the media overblew the story, but this can’t be disputed: The Bears tried to lowball Lovie, originally offering $2 million a year less than the agreed-upon $5.5 million average, and Smith and agent Frank (Jack) Bauer told them to stick their offer where the Vince Lombardi Trophy doesn’t shine. The Lovester didn’t blink.

“Teddy Bear did.…”