Bears GM Phil Emery impressed by Lovie Smith

The Chicago Bears are 4-1 and continue to win in just about every situation they're put in. When they make mistakes on offense, the defense comes up big. When the defense falters, Jay Cutler finds his man for a big touchdown. It's worked very well, and has put the team in a place where, if you're going by head coach Lovie Smith's critics in the offseason (and seasons past), you'd feel that nobody thought they'd be.

Smith has had a lot of critics as the Bears have stagnated over the years, and many thought that general manger Phil Emery might be parting ways with him after the season. Given their start, it looks like that might not be the case. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Emery is "really impressed" with Smith and the job he's doing:

"All of us need to continue improving, and that's where I've been really impressed with Coach Smith,'' Emery said. "He keeps pushing all the right buttons, not only coaching his players and interrelating with his players but coaching his coaches, working with us in personnel.''

Also covered in the report are the rumors regarding a potential two-year extension for Smith. Emery says that they're not talking about it, while Smith's agent confirms this and says that these talks would happen at the end of the season. It makes sense that a coach who has his team playing as well as the Bears are wouldn't want to be distracted by contract talks. Or, as the piece notes, Smith could be banking on a blank check in exchange for a Super Bowl.