[CBFF] Smith's agent says talks with Bears have broken down

[Steve Behrens]

What I say?!?

This is still a cheap organization.  And this will be a huge gaff  by Agelo
if Lovie walks since he wanted to renegotiate before last season.

Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go throw up.

-Behr


On 2/21/07, Kenny Claxton <kenny.claxton at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Barring what Lovie Smith's agent calls an "unforseen breakthrough,"
> the Chicago
> Bears <http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=chi> coach expects to
> return for the 2007 season without a new contract.
>
> "We're not close, we're not encouraged and based on where talks have gone
> recently, Lovie will be a free agent after next season," Bauer said on
> Wednesday night.Frank Bauer, Smith's agent, told ESPN's Chris Mortensen
> that
> talks between the team and coach were at a "stalemate." Smith has one year
> remaining on his original contract. He was the league's lowest-paid coach
> at
> $1.35 million in 2006 and will remain No. 32 on the paylist at $1.45
> million
> in '07. Smith suspended contract talks shortly before the playoffs when he
> led the Bears to their first Super Bowl appearance since 1985 after a 13-3
> regular season. Negotiations picked up shortly after the Bears lost to the
> Colts in the championship game, but Bauer said there were significant gaps
> on the contract terms between management and the coach. "It would take an
> unforseen breakthrough for this to get done," Bauer said. "And we are
> being
> more than reasonable in this market." Coaches that have taken their teams
> to
> the Super Bowl, even in a losing effort, are making at least $5 million
> per
> year, such as Carolina's John Fox. The Ravens just signed Brian Billick to
> a
> four-year extension. The deal, with one year left on his current contract,
> is valued at $28.5 million over the next five years, a league source
> said. *Chris
> Mortensen is an NFL analyst for ESPN.*
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