Lovie Smith's Tennessee Connection

Lovie Smith is being paid $1.3 million this season. Phillip Fulmer will pocket $2.05 million. Something is out of whack here. And it's not Fulmer's fault.

Smith is the former Vol assistant coach who has led his NFL team to the Super Bowl. His Chicago Bears will face the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night.

Smith is the lowest paid coach in the NFL. Absurd. True. And likely to change. By most accounts, those who run one of pro football's most storied teams (da Bears) will open up their wallet to keep Smith in Chicago.

While most of East Tennessee is focused on Peyton Manning this week, it's best not to forget Smith. His stay at Tennessee didn't last as long as Manning's. He was a Vol assistant coach in 1993 and 1994. It's easier to remember SEC champion quarterbacks than it is a defensive back coach who spent two years in Knoxville.

I don't know Lovie as well as Manning. But current UT coaches do. Vol Offensive Coordinator David Cutcliffe told me last week that he taught Lovie how to bass fish when he was coaching here. Lovie is from Texas, something tells me he already knew how to catch 'em.

On Sunday, Smith goes for the biggest catch of his career.