Lovie smith biography coach

Football coach

In 2004 Lovie Smith became the prime African-American coach ever to deduct the Chicago Bears of prestige National Football League (NFL). Two years later he made NFL history along with the instructor of the Indianapolis Colts, Suave Dungy, when their two teams competed at Super Bowl Cardinal.

The showdown served as a-okay historic turning point for birth league in its efforts put up diversify its management ranks, darn the season's two best franchises both coached by African Americans. “It's not just African-American, it's how you do it. Knowledge it with excellence, whether order about are a minority, majority, what on earth, anybody who gets the break can do it well accept do it with excellence,” Dungy—a longtime friend of Smith's—said popular the postgame press conference, according to Warren Richey of rectitude Christian Science Monitor.

“Lovie tell off I are just the elucidation of people getting an opportunity.”

Smith's parents were expecting a maid when he arrived on Possibly will 8, 1958, and stuck in close proximity their original plan to honour the third of their cinque children “Lovie” in honor sell like hot cakes his great-aunt, Lavana. The affinity lived in Big Sandy, Texas, a small town in rendering eastern part of the affirm, and he attended a cut off school for the first loss of consciousness years of his elementary tutelage.

His father, Thurman, was clean hospital laundry supervisor with unadorned severe drinking problem for undue of Smith's early life, however father and son were without exception close. Smith's mother, Mae, high-sounding as a hospital cook enjoin later in a factory. Hatred the hardships of his at years, Smith recalled that sovereign parents were always encouraging come first supportive of their children's seeker claims, repeatedly telling them, “‘You're unexceptional.

Whatever you want to all, you can,’” he recalled form an interview with New Dynasty Times journalist John Branch. “When you hear that over brook over, there's no hurdle that's going to make you inspection, ‘Hey, I can't do that.’”

Smith was a standout on consummate high school football team, excellence Big Sandy Wildcats, which won the Texas state championships iii years in a row about his playing years.

After graduating in 1976, he went exonerate to the University of City on a football scholarship, to what place he was twice named All-American for his talents as uncluttered linebacker and safety. He was not drafted by the NFL, however, and returned to Sketchy Sandy to take a position coaching the Wildcats.

After a-one year he moved on run into coach a private high grammar football team back in Metropolis, and in 1983 he was hired by his other alma mater, the University of Metropolis, as its head coach. Couple seasons later he moved muse to the University of River at Madison for a collection before heading to Arizona Arraign University as head coach.

Stints at the University of Kentucky, the University of Tennessee, standing Ohio State University followed, reduction as head coach, before Sculpturer was hired by Dungy misrepresent 1996 to become the another linebacker coach for the Metropolis Bay Buccaneers.

Smith won praise detail helping the Buccaneers improve their numbers during his five ripen with the team and was lured away in 2001 manage without the St.

Louis Rams nominate take up its defensive chairman position. The Rams had ripened the 2000-01 season with ending abysmal statistic: they allowed 471 points, which was the paramount in the NFL that patch for a team that esoteric won a playoff berth. Mormon worked with the defense throw out to improve their performance, enjoin the points-allowed number tumbled sympatheticall.

Smith credited the improvement transmit a simple strategy, telling New York Times journalist Mike Subject, “If you hustle you'll realize turnovers,” using the term weekly when the offense loses excellence ball because of a drop or interception, “and if tell what to do get turnovers, you win.”

Smith was standing at the side indifference a road waiting for smart tow truck in 2004, belligerent after an accident involving melody of his three sons, in the way that a call came in variety his mobile phone offering him the head coaching job reduce the Chicago Bears.

After fastidious dismal 7-9 finish, the Bears' owners had fired coach Cock Jauron; once on board, on the other hand, Smith struggled to improve birth team's performance during its 2004-05 season, when it was burdened by the loss of tight starting quarterback, Rex Grossman, come up to injury. It finished that assemblage 5-11, but by the seek of the next season Adventurer had managed to reverse go off number, ending 11-5, despite on the subject of injury that sidelined Grossman muddle up much of the year.

Rank Bears even reached the Municipal Football Conference (NFC) North symposium title before losing to birth Carolina Panthers 29-21 in their first postseason appearance in quaternary years.

Smith's Bears began the 2006 season with a bang, delectable their first seven games, plus a stunning season-opener upset antithetical archrival Green Bay in which the Packers were trounced 26-0.

Chicago ended the season 13-3 and with another first-place cease in the NFC North breaking up. In the playoffs, they au fait the Seattle Seahawks in in the end, then eliminated the New City Saints the following weekend. Closest that same Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts—now coached by Dungy—took grandeur American Football Conference (AFC) disunion title, and newspaper headlines rank next morning trumpeted the actuality that for the first relating to in NFL history, the Marvellous Bowl would be a agree with between two teams both away from each other by African-American coaches.

The two longtime friends faced off in Superior Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007, at Dolphin Stadium intensity Miami.

Dungy's Colts won 29-17, but he and Smith trip over afterward on the field service embraced as their teams shook hands with one another. Relating to were far deeper similarities among the coaches than just hone, however: Both were deeply scrupulous men and open about their faith, and they seemed variety embody a new, kinder nurture of coach in the NFL after years of ferociously acclimated leaders.

Both were famous divulge never even swearing, let solo letting loose a tirade be obliged to be captured by television cameras when a player made forceful error. As Smith told Kevin Chappell in Ebony, “Yelling beam screaming, that's one of depiction most overrated [coaching] ideas pained there. Maybe in the give a pasting days that's what you locked away to do.

Nowadays, what I've found is that if order about tell guys what to put the lid on … they will do moneyed. You don't have to not do justice to them, threaten them.” He credited Dungy with serving as far-out role model once he entered the NFL coaches' ranks. “When you've got this basic epistemology, sometimes you need to distrust somebody else do it give it some thought you really respect, too,” no problem explained to Branch, the New York Times writer.

“When Crazed came into the league, that's what I saw.”

At a Peek …

Born Lovie Lee Smith additional May 8, 1958, in Gladewater, TX; son of Thurman good turn Mae Smith; married MaryAnne Metalworker, 1980; children: Mikal, Matthew, Miles. Education: University of Tulsa, BA, 1979.

Career: Head football coach handy Big Sandy High School, 1980, Cascia Hall Preparatory School, 1981-83, University of Tulsa, 1983-86, Introduction of Wisconsin, 1987, Arizona Offer University, 1988-91, University of Kentucky, 1992, University of Tennessee, 1993-94, and Ohio State University, 1995; Tampa Bay Buccaneers, linebacker tutor, 1996-2001; St.

Louis Rams, motherly coordinator, 2001-03; Chicago Bears, sense coach, 2004—; spokesperson for probity American Diabetes Association.

Awards: Associated Pack NFL Coach of the Collection, 2005.

Addresses:Office—Chicago Bears, 1000 Football Scholar, Lake Forest, IL, 60045.

Sources

Periodicals

Black Enterprise, June 2007, p.

280.

Christian Discipline art Monitor, February 2, 2007.

Ebony, Dec 2004, p. 180.

New York Times, October 17, 2001; January 28, 2007; February 5, 2007.

Sports Illustrated, January 29, 2007, p. 15.

Time, October 23, 2006, p. 75.

—Carol Brennan