Lovie Smith said he plans to bring back his entire coaching staff in 2011. The Bears plan to bring Smith back for a lot longer than that.
G.M. Jerry Angelo said Monday that the Bears plan to give Smith a contract extension this offseason.
“We very much want to extend Lovie,” Angelo said Monday via the Chicago Tribune. “Our focus, our intent is to extend Lovie.”
The Bears aren’t known for breaking the bank on coaches and Smith’s demands for a contract are unclear here. Marvin Lewis and the Bengals, for instance, both talked of wanting an extension at this time last year and one didn’t materialize.
Still, it sounds like the Bears don’t want Smith to enter 2011 as a “lame duck” head coach. Smith knows better than anyone how coaching stock fluctuates, so he’s got a lot of incentive to strike a deal.