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Landmark Super Bowl matches coaches Smith, Dungy

Jan 31, 2007 - 5:42 PM Indianapolis (15-4) vs. Chicago (15-3) Sunday, February 4 Super Bowl XL 6:25 pm EST

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Super Bowl XLI is indeed one to celebrate.

The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts will meet on February 4 in the first Super Bowl that will feature two black coaches.

Lovie Smith became the first black coach to reach the Super Bowl when the Bears beat the New Orleans Saints, 39-14, in the NFC championship game on January 21.

Hours later, Tony Dungy joined his close friend when the Colts rallied to beat the New England Patriots, 38-34, in the AFC championship game.

Now Smith or Dungy will become the first black coach to hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is given to the Super Bowl champion.

"The ultimate respect you get is when you hold up the championship trophy," said Smith, who worked as a linebackers coach under Dungy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996-2000.

The landmark game in American sports will also feature Peyton Manning, the most prolific quarterback of the decade, and Brian Urlacher, a six-time Pro Bowl linebacker.

Not to mention Marvin Harrison, one of only four players in NFL history with more than 1,000 catches, and Adam Vinatieri, who has two Super Bowl-winning field goals on his resume.

Dungy played on a Super Bowl-winning team with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1978, but had never been to one in 15 years as an assistant coach and 10 years as a coach. He has been to the playoffs eight straight seasons - three with Tampa Bay and five with Indianapolis. Dungy lost in the NFC title game in 1999 with Tampa Bay and in the AFC championship game in 2003.

"Having experienced disappointment makes this that much more satisfying," Dungy said.

Smith was a defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams in 2001, when they lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. It took Smith just three years to make the Super Bowl as a coach.

"We feel blessed to be in this position," Smith said. "We know how much it means and how hard it is to get to a Super Bowl."

Cito Gaston is still the only black manager to win a World Series, getting back-to-back titles with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993.

There have been a series of black coaches to win NBA titles, starting with Bill Russell as a player-coach with the Boston Celtics in 1968 and 1969.

The only other time two black coaches faced off against each other in a championship game or series was in the NBA Finals in 1975, when Al Attles and the Golden State Warriors swept K.C. Jones and the Washington Bullets in four games.

Perhaps Dungy's best attribute is his unshakable demeanor. Even though the Colts ranked last in the NFL against the run during the regular season, Dungy believed his defensive players would be better in the playoffs and they have responded, shutting down running backs Larry Johnson of Kansas City, Jamal Lewis of Baltimore and Laurence Maroney of New England.

Then in the AFC championship game, Dungy did not stray from the game plan when the Colts staged the biggest comeback in conference championship game history, rallying from an 18-point deficit.

Smith is also not one to panic. When most of the Windy City was calling for a quarterback change, Smith stuck with Rex Grossman and the move paid off in a trip to the Super Bowl. Grossman committed 25 turnovers during the regular season, but he also threw for 3,193 yards and 23 touchdowns.

But Manning is the quarterback that is expected to shine in the Super Bowl spotlight. A two-time MVP, Manning is the only player with nine 3,000-yard passing seasons to start a career and the only one with six straight 4,000-yard seasons (1999-2004).

This season, Manning posted a league-high 101.0 quarterback rating, completing 65 percent of his passes for 4,397 yards and 31 touchdowns with nine interceptions.

And then in the AFC championship game, Manning showed the heart of a champion, directing a seven-play, 80-yard drive that rookie Joseph Addai capped with a three-yard touchdown run with a minute left.

Manning has Pro Bowl wide receivers Harrison and Reggie Wayne, who will have a homecoming of sorts after attending the University of Miami. Harrison is the NFL's fourth all-time leading receiver with 1,022 receptions for 13,697 yards and 122 touchdowns. He is the only player with 100 or more receptions in four consecutive years (1999-2002).

The Bears will rely on a strong running game led by Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson and a defense that is headlined by linebackers Urlacher and Lance Briggs.

"The blueprint of the Chicago Bears tradition is great defense, and run the ball well," Grossman said.

The Bears had the NFC's stingiest defense, yielding just 15.9 points per game, and held the Saints, who had the league's No. 1 offense, to just 14 points in the NFC title game.

Chicago will count on pass-rushing ends Mark Anderson, Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown to provide the type of pressure that can affect Manning's rhythm.

The Colts will turn to pass-rushing ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis to put some heat on Grossman.

Special teams should play a big role in Super Bowl XLI.

Indianapolis has Vinatieri, who has made a league-best 37 postseason field goals. He kicked five field goals in the divisional playoff win over Baltimore and three more against his former team New England in the AFC championship game.

Vinatieri drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired in New England's 20-17 victory over St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI. He also booted a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left in a 32-29 win over Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Chicago's kicker is not too shabby. Pro Bowler Robbie Gould made 32-of-36 field goals this season and kicked a 49-yarder in overtime of the divisional playoff win over Seattle.

And then there's rookie Devin Hester, who set an NFL record with six touchdown returns this season - three on punts, two on kickoffs and one on a missed field goal.

This is the ninth Super Bowl in Miami. The Colts last appeared in a Super Bowl in January 1971 when it was in Miami and the franchise was located in Baltimore. Johnny Unitas and John Mackey were among the stars on the Colts when they beat Dallas, 16-13, in Super Bowl V.

Super Bowl III was also in Miami when the Colts lost to the New York Jets, 16-7.

The Bears last made the Super Bowl in January 1986 under coach Mike Ditka. Walter Payton, Jim McMahon and Mike Singletary were the stars in Chicago's 46-10 victory over New England in Super Bowl XX.

The AFC has won three straight Super Bowls and seven of the last nine.