He yells, all right - celebrating victories
By Rick Stroud
Published February 2, 2007
MIAMI - You can start off poor in a small Texas town, make it big and strike it rich.
You can stay true to your Christian faith, not curse and rarely raise your voice - yet players will hang on to every word and follow you into battle.
You can work hard, get knocked down and watch opportunities go to others because of the color of your skin - yet persevere to become the first black head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl.
You can even celebrate having your closest friend and mentor on the opposing sideline and still want to emerge victorious.
This is the example Lovie Smith has set as he leads the Bears into Super Bowl XLI.
By being different, you can make a difference.
"That's what we are trying to do. We want to set a good example," Smith said.
"I had great coaches coming up that set a perfect example for me. A lot of what I do now is based on what I saw from them. I had a chance to see Tony Dungy in that role. My father dealt with us on those same terms," Smith said of Thurman Smith, who died in 1996.
"But as much as anything, I think you have to be successful when you have this type of approach. Because if you don't win, people will say, 'They would have won if he had screamed and yelled and kicked the guys in the butt a little bit more.' I never have bought into that. It's good that coaches see us that way and can see that they can do it a different way."
Of course, Smith owes a lot of his success to Dungy, the Indianapolis Colts coach who hired him as a first-time NFL assistant with the Buccaneers in '96.
At the time, he was coaching defensive backs at Ohio State. Dungy asked his scouts for a list of the best position coaches in college, and Smith's name appeared on several.
He was supposed to assist defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who planned to coach the linebackers for a year. But Smith was such a quick study, Kiffin turned the position over to him by training camp.
Even so, there was no way Dungy imagined he would one day join Smith as the first African-American head coaches in the Super Bowl.
"Lovie was a big part of what we got done in Tampa," Dungy said. "And I just have so much respect for him, the way he does things. I know the way they are coached. I know how they are treated. To see him get his team here in three years, that is just awesome. I'm very proud of him, but I am very happy to call him my friend."
The Lovie-fest doesn't stop there. To understand the attraction, you have to travel 100 miles east from Dallas to the dusty town of Big Sandy population 1,288, where Smith and his four siblings were raised.
It's where people work hard all week and go to church on Sunday, a Friday Night Lights sort of town where football is worshiped. His mother, Mae, saw to it that he had a heavy dose of faith and football.
Smith was an all-state linebacker who led the Big Sandy Wildcats to three straight state titles before becoming a two-time All-America defensive back at Tulsa.
"Like all sons, I've loved my mother dearly," Smith said. "At a young age, she let me know that I could do whatever I wanted to do, not to use being poor or where I came from as an excuse for what happens to me in life, to not feel sorry for yourself. And she preached to me about hard work. To not set your dreams too low but to shoot for the sky, and I've had a chance to see her persevere.
"I've had a chance to see her fight diabetes, and it has taken her sight. But she doesn't complain. Every day her glass is half full. I get a lot of advice from quite a few people each week, and my mom is one of them. I'm trying to figure out how my mom, who can't see, can give me this kind of advice and try to tell me exactly who I should start and all that. She's a football lady, and I'm just glad she'll will get a chance to hear the game at Dolphin Stadium."
For the record, Smith's mother believes in quarterback Rex Grossman. So does Lovie. His loyalty to his players is one of the reasons he gets so much effort from them.
"You know, it doesn't take somebody to yell and scream for you to know that they're not happy with you," defensive end Alex Brown said. "Coach Smith comes in and he's really serious. He's not going to give you a big smile, but if he gives you a little grin, then you're all right. If you don't get a grin, you probably did something wrong."
Linebacker Brian Urlacher, 28, said he never wants to play for another coach. The Bears hope he's right. Smith is the lowest-paid NFL coach at $1.3-million a year, but a new deal is in the works.
"As far as my contract, I started off at the bottom with everything I've ever done," Smith said.
"Big Sandy, a small town, and I worked my way up. I had to take steps. Maybe more steps than others."
Rick Stroud can be reached at stroud@sptimes.com.