If Lovie had found his suit in time

[gustoonarmy]

....things might have turned out differently.

N.Y.'s no place for Super guys

Bears' Lovie Smith (left) and Jerry Angelo end up in Super Bowl and not with Giants and Jets. MIAMI - After each was rejected by one of the New York teams, Bears GM Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith needed only three seasons together to get Chicago to its first Super Bowl in 21 years.

"I was disappointed," Angelo said.

"I was disappointed," Smith said.

Angelo lost out to Terry Bradway for the Jets general manager's job in 2001. Smith finished behind Tom Coughlin (and Charlie Weis) in the Giants' head-coach search in 2004. Months after he was passed over by the Jets, Angelo was hired by the Bears. Weeks after he was turned down by the Giants, Smith was hired by Angelo. They had worked together for five seasons in Tampa.

Did the Giants and Jets both make mistakes? The Jets never got past the divisional round with Bradway as GM and the Giants can't get past the wild-card round with Coughlin. Angelo built a Super Bowl team and Smith coached it to the big game.

"I was disappointed because you don't know whether another opportunity is going to come about. But no more than that," Angelo said yesterday. "The Jets are a great organization and I would have been flattered if I had got it."

Angelo and Bradway were scouts with the Giants during the Bill Parcells era. Parcells recommended both to succeed him as the Jets GM. Woody Johnson selected Bradway, then in the personnel department of the Chiefs, over Angelo, who was working personnel for the Bucs. As it turns out, Bradway couldn't handle the pressure and scrutiny of New York and ultimately was not happy in a position of power.

Not long after taking the job, Bradway moved his family from Long Island to where he grew up in South Jersey and commuted to Hofstra. When he was demoted after last season from GM to working personnel again, he was the happiest man who ever lost his job. Meanwhile, Angelo has embraced the responsibility of running his own show and has thrived in a large market. He has the personality to spread credit and accept blame. He does not get gun-shy if he makes a mistake.

Six years ago, Angelo was scouting the East-West Shrine Game in Palo Alto, Calif., when the Jets called to ask him to come in for an interview. He didn't have his suit with him and had his wife ship it from Tampa to Kennedy Airport. He landed at Kennedy about 2 a.m. and spent more than an hour trying to locate his clothes. "I'm going to hangars looking for it because they can't find it," he said.

His suit was finally discovered at 3:30 a.m. and he got a few hours' sleep before an 8 a.m. interview. What might have happened to the Jets if he was hired?

"I don't know," Angelo said. "I have no idea. That was then."

Angelo might have hired Herm Edwards as his coach because they were together at that time in Tampa, but Giants defensive coordinator John Fox or Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, who had just been in the Super Bowl, would have been the more logical choices.

The Giants wanted Coughlin to put an end to the Jim Fassel Country Club, but in three years, he has alienated many of his players and now is on a one-year audition to keep his job. Smith, then the Rams' defensive coordinator, was impressive in his interview with the Giants, but they were comfortable with Coughlin, a former Giants assistant.

"I was disappointed, but it was a great experience having a chance to talk with Ernie Accorsi and John Mara," Smith said. "I thought both of them were class guys. If I had gotten the head job with the Giants, I thought it would have been a good situation, a great working environment with them. I think, 'How could it be any better for me than to be the head coach of the Bears?'"

Angelo never interviewed Coughlin for the Bears' job even though they had been assistants together at Syracuse in the '70s. Angelo decided he would rather take his chances with a first-time coach than hire a recycled one.

Coughlin yells a lot and wears out his players. Smith is quieter, but his players play hard for him. Would Smith have been tough enough to deal with New York and handle a difficult group of players?

"He's tough," Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said. "He could fit any team. Lovie would be successful anywhere."

Angelo says Smith would have been "great in New York as he is in Chicago. If you have special talents, it's irrelevant what the environment is. It might take a little longer in some cases, but it always comes to fruition." Mike Tannenbaum is now the Jets GM and Coughlin is barely holding on. Angelo has established himself as one of the best GMs in the league. And Smith, with one year to go on his contract, will get an extension that figures to be worth between $4 million and $5 million per year. The Bears are in the Super Bowl with Angelo and Smith and should thank the Jets and Giants.

Originally published on February 1, 2007

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/story/493766p-415919c.html