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Sunday, January 21, 2007
Bears glad Falcons weren’t impressed by Smith
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Chicago — Once you eliminate the window dressing of injuries, luck and the occasional water bottle with a secret compartment, the difference between winning and losing really comes down to this: choices.
The Chicago Bears are going to the Super Bowl in two weeks, at least partly because of what happened three years ago. They chose right, after the Falcons chose wrong.
They chose Lovie Smith.
“That was a long time ago,” Smith said Sunday about the Falcons after stepping away from a podium. “I can’t remember back that far.”
And then he smiled. Because, like, duh, of course he can remember back that far. But there was no need to stoke an unpleasant memory on the same day of a crowning achievement.
When Chicago dumped the Saints, America’s heartthrob, 39-14 Sunday at Soldier Field, it secured the Bears’ first Super Bowl berth in 21 seasons and secured Smith’s place in history as the first African-American to coach in the title game.
“I feel blessed to be in that position,” Smith said. “I’ll feel even better to be the first black coach to hold up the world championship trophy.”
Smith is the lowest-paid coach in the NFL. His annual salary of $1.3 million is dwarfed by the $4.8 million the Falcons just gave Bobby Petrino, who hasn’t coached an NFL game yet. The Bears, a notoriously cheap outfit, might want to do something about this before Smith comes down from his emotional high.
What Smith has done in three seasons with the Bears qualifies as one of the most remarkable coaching jobs in history, if for no other reason than this: He just guided a team to the Super Bowl with Rex Grossman at quarterback. The only guy happier about this than Grossman is Trent Dilfer, who can relinquish his title as “worst quarterback in a title game.”
Grossman completed four straight passes for 78 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian, in a key second-half possession that expanded the Bears’ lead to 25-14. Up to that point, he had been 5-for-20 for 64 yards.
Chicago hasn’t gone to the Super Bowl because of Grossman so much as they have gone in spite of him. In previous games this regular season, he had quarterback efficiency ratings of 36.8, 23.7, 1.3 and the Delta House-sponsored 0.0.
So it follows that Grossman has taken some heat despite going 13-3 during the regular season. But Smith has stuck by him, and the Bears keep winning. The two embraced after the game.
“Coach Smith is the best coach in the league,” Grossman said. “We just kind of had a special moment. I know what he’s been through and the way he’s changed our program. Everyone’s bought into it. It’s just fun to see good people like that accomplish great things.”
Smith, formerly St. Louis’ defensive coordinator and a Tampa Bay assistant, was a popular coaching candidate in 2003. He interviewed with the Falcons during the playoffs after the firing of coach Dan Reeves but apparently did not wow anybody during the process. The Falcons hired Jim Mora. Smith fell to the Bears.
Success wasn’t immediate. Chicago went only 5-11 in Smith’s first season and started last year 1-3. But since that 6-14 start, the Bears are 25-6 (including playoffs). He has built the kind of team this city loves to wrap its arms around: a defense that is physical and forces turnovers and an offense that pounds the ball.
“You could not have asked for a more perfect situation for us, to win an NFC title game like this at home,” said running back Thomas Jones, who rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, who played on only one winning team in his first five seasons, said of Smith: “The guy’s amazing. Every game people find something wrong with our team. Either it’s our defense or our quarterback. We’ve taken on his attitude. He never gets too high or too low. He never really shows too much emotion.
“Well, he might be now.”
Yes, he got emotional. Smith spoke for a couple of minutes in the interview room before taking a question. After fondly recalling handing the George Halas Trophy to Virginia McCaskey — the eldest daughter of the legendary Bears owner — after the game, Smith said: “I’m just rambling away here.”
He’ll have two weeks to cherish that moment. The Falcons have longer to think about one that got away.
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