IMG has hired Matt Smith, son and agent of Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith, who will represent his father in both on-the-field and off-the-field work, including endorsements, as well as any future broadcasting work and literary efforts.
Smith, 26, a graduate of Northwestern and Loyola Chicago School of Law, will join IMG as a client manager, working out of its Chicago office, said Sandy Montag, IMG senior corporate vice president and managing director of clients. Smith will report to Gary O’Hagan, head of IMG’s Coaches division. O’Hagan reports to Montag.
Prior to IMG, Matt Smith interned at CAA Sports and Priority Sports & Entertainment. “He has grown up in a football household and he knows a lot of people in the industry and he is a smart kid,” Montag said. “We feel that in five years from now, Matt will be a great executive in our business.”
Lovie Smith has been head coach of the Bears since 2004 and is currently in the last year of a two-year contract that Matt Smith negotiated with the club in February 2011. Matt Smith earlier this month said discussions regarding any contract extension would take place after the football season. Matt Smith has been Lovie Smith’s lone representative since January 2011.
Currently, Lovie Smith has no local or national endorsement deals, Montag said.
— Liz Mullen
