Lovie Smith had enough.

The stories about his contract negotiations with the Chicago Bears kept getting worse by the day. A proud man and loyal employee, Smith decided Wednesday morning that this was the day he wanted to end the speculation of his future. He told his agent, Frank Bauer, to get a deal done Wednesday and he ended up with a great one.

Smith agreed to a four-year, $22 million extension that will keep him with the Bears through the 2011 season. He was due to receive $1.45 million in salary in 2007 before this deal. However, under the new deal, Smith will now get roughly $2 million of the $22 million from the extension this year for a total of about $3.45 million in '07, ESPN.com's John Clayton reports. The team shifted around some other money, but in the end, Smith, who took the Bears to the Super Bowl, joined the elite $5 million club of head coaches.

Chicago designated Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs as its franchise player. Smith promoted Bob Babich from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator and hired Hardy Nickerson to coach linebackers and Brick Haley to coach the defensive line.