Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith ( born ) is the head coach of the Chicago Bears professional football team of the NFL . Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice , as the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Saint Louis Rams and as the head coach for the Chicago Bears in 2006 . Earlier life . Lovie Smith was born in Gladewater and raised in Big Sandy , Texas . He was named after his great aunt , Lavana . During Smith ' s high school career in Big Sandy , he earned all - state honors for three years as a defensive end and linebacker . His team won three consecutive state championships in 1973 - 75 , including a 0 – 0 tie in 1974 versus Celina High School of legendary coach G . A . Moore . In 1975 , Big Sandy had one of the most dominant seasons in high school football history , as the defense allowed only 15 points ( 11 shutouts ) all season , while the offense , featuring eventual Miami Dolphins running back David Overstreet , scored a then - national record 824 points . Smith played college football at University of Tulsa under head coach John Cooper . He was a two - time All - America n at linebacker and safety . After graduation he immediately pursued a coaching career . He was hired as defensive coordinator at his hometown high school in 1980 . A year later he left to coach at Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa . By 1983 , he began coaching linebackers on the college level , first at his alma mater Tulsa ( 1983 – 86 ) , and then at University of Wisconsin – Madison ( 1987 ) , Arizona State University ( 1988 – 91 ) , and the University of Kentucky ( 1992 ) . He also served as defensive backs coach at the University of Tennessee ( 1993 – 94 ) , and Ohio State University ( 1995 ) . Professional career . 1996 - 2003 . Smith began his professional coaching career as a linebacker coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Under the guidance of Tony Dungy , he helped develop the Tampa 2 defense . After spending five years with Buccaneers , Smith was hired as the defensive coordinator of the St . Louis Rams under head coach Mike Martz . While in St . Louis , Smith improved the Rams defense , which went from giving up a league - worst 29 . 4 points per game in 2000 to an average of 17 . 1 points in 2001 . The Rams won the 2001 NFC Championship and advanced to Super Bowl XXXVI . The team ultimately lost to the New England Patriots in one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets of all time . 2004 - 2006 . The Chicago Bears hired Smith as head coach in 2004 , following the dismissal of Dick Jauron . He struggled during his first season with the Bears , as the installation of new offensive and defensive systems and a series of injuries , including a season - ending knee injury to starting quarterback Rex Grossman , contributed to a 5 – 11 record . Despite their poor offense , the Bears ’ defense saw some major improvement , rising from 22nd in 2003 to 13th in 2004 . In 2005 , history repeated itself when quarterback Rex Grossman suffered a serious injury during the preseason and missed a majority of the season . Despite Grossman ' s loss , Smith and Ron Rivera used a dominant defense and the timely play of backup quarterback Kyle Orton to earn a 11 – 5 record , after starting the season with a 1 – 3 record . The Bears defense finished second in the league in terms of yardage , while allowing the fewest points in the league . The Bears ’ dramatic turn around in the 2005 season earned Smith national recognition . He won the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award that year . After returning to the field following their first round bye , the Bears played the Carolina Panthers , with a fully healed Rex Grossman as quarterback . Both the Bears ’ offense and defense struggled to keep up with the Panthers , and eventually lost , 29 – 21 . Nevertheless , Smith and the Bears were optimistic about the future . Smith and the Bears ’ management drew criticism in April 2006 , by trading away their first round pick and drafting five defensive players . The preseason criticism increased when he named Grossman , who struggled to move the Bears ’ offense during the preseason , as the Bears ' starting quarterback . Grossman led the Bears to seven consecutive victories , but struggled during the later portion of the season . Smith stood by Grossman through much criticism . The Bears finished the 2006 season with a 13 – 3 record , earning the NFC ’ s top playoff seed . The Bears finished the season with the NFL ' s second - ranked scoring offense , and fifth - ranked overall defense . Smith led the Bears to a 27 – 24 victory against the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks during the 2006 Divisional Playoffs , winning the first playoff game of his career . Later , a 39 – 14 victory came against the New Orleans Saints at the NFC Championship . Smith became the first Black head coach ( and the second minority coach , behind Tom Flores ) to lead his team to a Super Bowl , just hours before Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy , his good friend and mentor , became the second . The two friends together became the first two Black head coaches in the Super Bowl . The Bears lost Super Bowl XLI , 29 – 17 , and Smith earned the somewhat dubious honor of being the first African American head coach to lose in the Super Bowl . 2007 - present . Following Chicago ' s successful season , Smith demanded a pay raise . The lowest - paid coach in the NFL in 2006 at $ 1 . 35 million , Smith would have earned $ 1 . 45 million in the final season of a four - year contract . After a stalemate in contract negotiations , the Bears signed Smith to a new four - year contract worth $ 22 million on March 1 . However , he parted with defensive coordinator Ron Rivera , who was not re - signed after his contract expired . Additionally , four other members of Smith ' s coaching staff also left the team . In 2007 , Smith , confident in Grossman ' s abilities , named him the team ' s starting quarterback over Kyle Orton and Brian Griese . After the team started the season with a 1 – 2 record , Smith announced that Griese would replace Grossman . Griese lead the Bears to a 2 – 3 record , but sustained an injury in a game against the Oakland Raiders , which allowed Grossman to become the team ' s starting quarterback again . However , Grossman was later injured in the season , and temporarily relieved by Griese . Smith ultimately allowed Kyle Orton to finish the remainder of the season , who led the Bears to a 2 – 1 record . The team ' s inconsistency at the quarterback position and failure to establish a proper running game contributed to the team ' s 7 – 9 finish . While the team finished last in the NFC North , Smith was pleased that the team ended the season by winning their last two games . Bob Babich , the team ' s defensive coordinator , was also criticized for his play calling . The next year , Smith and the Bears parted with their leading rusher Cedric Benson , passer Griese , and receiver Bernard Berrian . Smith declared Kyle Orton as the team ' s starting quarterback , who started the season with an upset victory over the Indianapolis Colts . The Bears proceeded to go 2 – 2 , with two overtime losses . The team managed to avoid falling below . 500 for the remainder of the season , but missed the playoffs after losing their season finale to the Houston Texans . Smith was pleased with the success of rookie running back Matt Forte and quarterback Kyle Orton , who finished the season with a 79 . 6 quarterback rating . After the season ' s conclusion , Smith demoted Babich and took over defensive play calling responsibilities . He was also reunited with his long - time friend , Rod Marinelli , who had lost his head coaching job with the Detroit Lions . Later in the offseason , Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo had conflicting views on the future of the team ' s quarterback position . While Smith was content with Orton , Angelo was more interested in creating a long - term solution to the position . Angelo traded Orton and the Bears ' 2009 and 2010 first round draft picks for Jay Cutler of the Denver Broncos . The team ' s high expectations were quickly grounded when the Bears struggled in the month of November , losing four of five games . The Bears were eliminated from the playoff race for the third consecutive year after losing to the Green Bay Packers during a Week 14 matchup . The loss marked the first time that the Bears under Lovie Smith had ever lost two games to Green Bay in a single season . A week after the loss to Green Bay , it was reported that despite rumors about changes to the Bears coaching staff , Smith would remain the team ' s head coach . Jerry Angelo , the team ' s general manager , refused to confirm these reports when addressing the media the following Sunday . Smith finished the season with consecutive wins against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions . His victory over Detroit marked his 100th game as the team ' s head coach . After the season ' s conclusion , the Bears organization announced that Smith would return in 2010 . However , the organization fired offensive coordinator Ron Turner and three other offensive coaches . Turner was replaced by Mike Martz , who had been the head coach of the St . Louis Rams when Smith was their defensive coordinator . Smith was relieved of his defensive play - calling responsibilities , while Babich was officially demoted as the team ' s defensive coordinator . Personal life . Lovie and his wife , MaryAnne Smith , have three children : Mikal , Matthew , and Miles . Smith , whose mother is blind because of diabetes , is an active supporter of the American Diabetes Association . In addition to participating in various events for the ADA , he also donates ten tickets to every Bears ’ game to children suffering from diabetes . He and his wife are also the founders of the " Lovie and MaryAnne Smith Foundation " , a program which donates college tuition funds towards impoverished children . He was the Grand Marshal for the USG Sheetrock 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on July 15 , 2007 . Smith is a devout Christian and has contributed every month to Brown ' s Chapel , his former Methodist church in Texas , even though he no longer resides in Texas . Coaching tree . NFL head coaches under whom Lovie Smith has served : Assistant coaches under Lovie Smith who became NFL head coaches :