Is Brad Childress going to be the Vikings' coach after the 2007 season? Who knows for sure? I, personally, am not holding my breath.
However, in the event that the Vikings ARE looking for a new head coach for the 2008 season, it looks like there might be a relatively familiar face on the list of potential candidates.
Frank Bauer, Smith's agent, told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that talks between the team and coach were at a "stalemate."
"We're not close, we're not encouraged and based on where talks have gone recently, Lovie will be a free agent after next season," Bauer said on Wednesday night.
Smith has one year remaining on his original contract. He was the league's lowest-paid coach at $1.35 million in 2006 and will remain No. 32 on the paylist at $1.45 million in '07.
Go, go, Jerry Angelo! You go right ahead and run that highly successful head coach straight out of town because you're a cheap ass. Criminy, this guy makes Red McCombs look like the guy on the Monopoly board.