There was a lot of praise and Ra Ra during the Super Bowl celebrating the fact that not 1 but two African American coaches made it to the big game. Both coaches were very deserving of the recognition.

That was then. Enter the post Super Bowl reality. Lovie Smith helped turn around a Franchise that was mediocre at best to be one of the premier teams in the NFC for the past couple of years. Two Division Titles and a Conference Championship. Yet, he is the lowest paid Head Coach in the league. I thought it was ridiculous for them to not extend his contract after last year, but I can understand them not wanting to make a long term commitment based on what may have been a fluke season. Wake up Jerry Angelo. It wasn’t a fluke. What did he do for an encore? He helped guide the team to the Super Bowl with Rex Gross-man as the QB.

I hate to say it, but I am not so sure that things wouldn’t be a little different if Lovie was Caucasian. Being that its Black History Month, Chicago is a prime example of how far African American coaches still have to go in order to be viewed in the same light as their white counterparts.

Am I crazy? Take a look at the “Golden Boy”. John Gruden. He took the Raiders to the Super Bowl and was crowned a genius. Heck. Tampa Bay even traded draft picks to get him. He has gotten the fortune, fame and respect. What does he do? Win a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy’s players and not much since.

Lovie Smith inherits a team that went 7-9 and finished 4th in the NFC South. What does he do? Season #1(5-11), Season #2(11-5, Wins NFC North) and Season #3(13-3, Wins NFC North and NFC). Does he have to win a Super Bowl to get off the bottom of the coaches pay scale? This is unfair. I am sure John Gruden would be immediately inducted into the Hall of Fame if the roles were reversed.

Chicago, prove me wrong and pay the man what he deserves. $4.5M+ Good Luck Lovie and Congrats on a Great Season. Maybe you should jump ship and join the new NFC North cellar dwellers. Get us to the NFC Championship game and you would be crowned King of Detroit.