The Houston Texans hired Lovie Smith to be their next head coach Monday night.
The Texans announced earlier Monday that they had “completed additional discussions” with Smith about the job before making it official several hours later. Reports throughout the day said the team and Smith were finalizing contract details.
Smith, 63, spent the 2021 season as the Texans’ associate head coach and defensive coordinator under David Culley, who was fired after Houston went 4-13 in his only season.
The Texans are Smith’s third NFL head-coaching job. He has an 89-87 regular-season record, including 81-63 with the Bears from 2004-12, taking the club to Super Bowl XLI. He was 8-24 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014-15.
Smith returned to the college ranks after his departure from the Buccaneers. He was named head coach at the University of Illinois but failed to rejuvenate the long-struggling program and was 17-39 from 2016-20.
The Texans offered Smith an opportunity to return to the NFL as a coordinator in 2021. Houston finished 31st in total defense but showed signs of improvement late in the season.
The team chose Smith over finalists Josh McCown and Brian Flores. Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who also twice interviewed for the job, was informed over the weekend that he would not be hired.
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Flores has sued the NFL, charging that an interview he had with the New York Giants was a “sham” intended to meet diversity hiring rules. Flores has also alleged he had been offered money by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to intentionally lose games to secure a better draft position.
Hours after news broke Monday that Smith was the Texans’ choice, Flores’ attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis put out a statement on Twitter, saying Houston avoided hiring Flores because of the lawsuit.
Statement from Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis, attorneys for Brian Flores, in response to the Houston Texans' announcement that it has hired Lovie Smith as its new head coach.#BrianFlores #Texans #NFL pic.twitter.com/6bSHYX2gsP
— WigdorLaw (@WigdorLaw) February 8, 2022
“Mr. Flores is happy to hear that the Texans have hired a Black head coach, Lovie Smith, as Mr. Flores’ goal in bringing his case is to provide real opportunities for Black and minority candidates to be considered for coaching and executive positions within the NFL,” the statement read. “However, we would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coach position and, after a great interview and mutual interest, it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.”
Of the nine NFL teams with coaching vacancies, Houston was among the final ones to make a hire. The New Orleans Saints reportedly agreed to promote defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to head coach Monday night.
–Field Level Media
