New Head Coach for Texans is Coach Smith

New Head Coach for Texans is Coach Smith

Lovie Smith was hired by the Houston Texans on Monday, adding a veteran with a track record of success to a team under scrutiny for its hiring process.

Black Smith becomes the second minority candidate hired by the Miami Dolphins this offseason after the Miami Dolphins hired biracial offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel on Sunday.

He spent last season as Houston's defensive coordinator and associate head coach. He was taking over for Culley, also Black and got fired after one season.

Several candidates were interviewed by Houston over the past few weeks, including Brian Flores, Hines Ward, Josh McCown and Joe Lombardi. Flores, Black, lost even though he had winning records in his last two seasons at Miami.

Flores sued the NFL, the Dolphins and two other teams last week for allegedly hiring racist coaches and general managers.

Through his legal team, Flores released a statement in which he applauded the Texans for hiring a Black man but questioned why he did not receive the offer.

The only reason Mr. Flores wasn't selected is his stand against racial inequality across the NFL," his legal team said in a statement. Flores was a finalist for the Texans' head coaching position, one of three candidates.

The Texans had been criticized in the media this week for even considering McCown for the job since he's never coached except for volunteering with his son's high school team. The 17-year veteran spent part of the 2020 season on Houston's practice squad before retiring.

The Texans loved him.

Nick Caserio said that Lovie has been a proven winner and is an established leader in the league. "We spoke with dozens of coaches, executives, and players, and lovie demonstrated both the results and people skills needed to lead this team forward."

During his tenure as Illinois' coach, Smith spent 2016-2020.

For Smith, it's his third head coaching job in the NFL, and he coached the Chicago Bears for nine years and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two years.

Having traded or released most of the team's top players in the last couple of years, he now takes charge of a team amid a complete rebuild. In a year where quarterback Deshaun Watson didn't play due to a trade request and 22 lawsuits involving sexual harassment or assault, the Texans went 4-13 last season.

Once Smith has been hired, the Texans will begin an offseason where they plan to trade Watson finally. After not having a first-round pick since 2019, they have the third overall pick in the draft, and they could gain more high picks if they trade Watson.

Following Dom Capers, Gary Kubiak, Bill O'Brien, and Culley, Smith becomes the fifth head coach.

My friends, family, teammates and coaches have supported me and helped me continue to do what I love, which is to teach and develop players," Smith said in a statement. "I am ready to get to work and build a championship-level program with you."

In his time with the Bears, Smith was 144-81, leading them to the 2006 Super Bowl, where they lost to the Colts. He struggled with Tampa Bay, going 2-14 the first season and 6-10 the following year before being let go.

Coach Smith was fired with one regular-season game left in his fifth season, having gone 17-39 at Illinois. He started coaching at his alma mater, Big Sandy High School, before college coaching.

His first NFL job was coaching linebackers for the Buccaneers in 1996.