Lovie does it

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Yeah, Lovie Smith celebrated all right. In his own way -- just like he's coached the Chicago Bears.

"Me going out and doing the town? I don't know if I know how to do that," Smith said Monday, the day after the Bears earned their first trip to the Super Bowl in 21 years and sent a city already in a tizzy into a two-week party.

It took Smith, previously the defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams, only three years to lead the Bears to the top of the NFC. And he shared the special moment with those closest to him -- his players and his family.

"Had a good time, had a chance to spend some good quality time with my family, my three sons and my beautiful wife ... We got a chance to hang around with some of the players too. We all ended up at a restaurant and watched the Colts game," Smith said.

After seeing his good friend and the man who gave him his first pro coaching job, Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, beat New England for the right to meet the Bears in Miami, Smith went home.

Then he did what a lot of people do. Surfed the Internet, watched TV and even read the papers to find out what had been said about his team before and after their convincing 39-14 rout of the New Orleans Saints in the snow Sunday at Soldier Field.

After three hours sleep and awaking at 5 a.m., he had a phone conversation with Dungy, who as the Buccaneers' head coach in 1996 hired Smith as an assistant in charge of linebackers.

Now they'll face each other for the biggest prize in pro football.

"I heard excitement in his voice right away, when I finally let him speak a little bit," Smith said, flashing some humor.

"This was a time that we both wanted going into the weekend. When people asked me, I let everyone know that I wanted the Colts to win. We wanted an opportunity to play them and that dream came true."

Smith, like Dungy, isn't a yeller and screamer but he gets his point across -- sometimes with a look -- and makes sure things are done the way he wants. He's low-key but has been seen on the sidelines this season running and raising his arms when a touchdown is scored.

"I've had a couple other coaches and they've kind of been on the opposite end of the spectrum, yelling and kind of carrying on and stuff like that," said left tackle John Tait, part of an offensive line that helped the Bears rush for nearly 200 yards against the Saints.

And Tait said the more aggressive style is OK, too. It's just not for Smith.

"Lovie's not that way, he kind of treats his guys like we're grown men," Tait said. "Shows you a lot of respect and in return I think you give a lot of respect to Lovie."

When he first came to the Bears in 2004 after leaving the Rams, Smith's first rule was this -- lose the love handles.

Everyone, including quarterbacks and assistant coaches, were put on notice. Hit the workout room and eat right because, in Smith's world, football is won with quick and lean players, not massive ones.

He wanted his defense to pursue all over the field, create takeaways -- the Bears had an NFL-best 44 in the regular season and four more Sunday -- and then pick up the ball and run to the end zone. Scoring on defense is allowed, so why not try to do it all the time? In Bears practices when there is a fumble or interception, the defensive player who comes up with the ball runs to the end zone.

Smith's loyalty was fierce throughout the season as he stuck with Rex Grossman, despite some erratic performances from the young quarterback and harsh criticism from the outside.

Grossman responded with two workmanlike performances, a very solid 282-yard passing game against Seattle in an opening playoff win and then a good-enough-to-get-it-done outing against the Saints when he completed four straight passes during a key second-half TD drive.

Smith gave his quarterback a hug after the game and told him he loved him, realizing what Grossman had been through.

Beating the Saints was an emotional experience for most of the Bears, even rugged veteran center Olin Kreutz, who revealed that he had to suppress tears after the game.

Now after some down time, the Bears will go back to work and get ready for the great challenge of stopping Peyton Manning and the Colts.

Smith, saying he's glad the Bears have two weeks before the game, will make sure his team's prepared properly. He's been in the Super Bowl as a defensive coordinator with the Rams.

"We lost that game and that feeling I will never forget. I have a scar, that's a scar that will never go away of a loss in that Super Bowl," he said.

"I don't want that feeling again."