(SportsRadio 610) - The Texans' head coaching search took a surprising turn Sunday night as defensive coordinator Lovie Smith emerged as the front runner to replace David Culley.
Smith had not been named as a candidate for the Texans head coach, which was announced by the team throughout this process since last month.
Smith's candidacy for head coach was officially acknowledged by the Texans on Monday morning.
As of last week, the Texans' finalists were retired NFL quarterback Josh McCown, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, who is suing the NFL alleging racist hiring practices.
As of Saturday, Gannon had been informed he would not be getting the job, leaving the finalists down to McCown and Flores. McCown, reportedly "all-in" as opposed to his interview last year, was believed to be the favorite to land the job
On Sunday, the Texans had no further communication with Flores. It was reported McCown was no longer in consideration for the job, as the Texans' search pivoted to in-house candidate Smith.
Hiring Smith would add instant credibility to the position, which it arguably lacked under first-year head coach Culley and would certainly be questioned if they hired McCown, who has never coached beyond high school.
Smith, whose record as head coach for the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers is 89-87, coached the Bears to the Super Bowl and was named Coach of the Year in 2005.
Under Smith's leadership as defensive coordinator, that side of the ball improved in takeaways from a league-low nine in 2020 to tied for seventh with 25 in 2021.
Yet it does appear to be a pivot by Texans leadership. For whatever reasons, they are no longer considering Flores or McCown. They might have taken a month to promote someone they've had a year to evaluate as their own employee, and at least joined the organization with enough of a track record to know what to expect.
This could ultimately be a good thing for the Texans: moving on from an inexperienced head coach in Culley, avoiding the hire of a complete unknown in McCown, and landing on a solid, reliable Smith. But there are inevitable questions to be answered about this process, how the Texans arrived at Smith, if that's in fact the case, and how this staff moves forward.
Will they promote Miles Smith, the linebackers coach and Lovie's son, to defensive coordinator? Quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton has turned down interviews elsewhere and could be in line to replace Tim Kelly, who was dismissed last month with Culley, as offensive coordinator.
Brandon Scott is the senior digital content coordinator for SportsRadio610.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott.