CHICAGO, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Head Coach Lovie Smith took the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl last month but reports are circulating that Smith will be out after next season.
Smith, the lowest paid head coach in the NFL, said he was certain a long-term contract would be worked out but his agent told ESPN the issue is at a stalemate, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.
Agent Frank Bauer said the two sides are "not close" in contract talks and at this point and "Lovie will be a free agent after next season."
Bauer and Ted Phillips, the team president, spoke on the matter this week but nothing concrete apparently has come of it.
Smith is scheduled to make $1.45 million in the 2007 season, the final year of a four-year deal. Talks reportedly began with a projected raise to $3 million, still below the norm.
