(SportsRadio 610) - Lovie Smith is expected to be named the Texans' next head coach, multiple media outlets have reported and SportsRadio 610 can confirm.
The Texans are finalizing a deal to make Smith their fifth head coach in franchise history, and their third in as many seasons. They fired David Culley after a 4-13 record in his lone season as head coach; and Bill O'Brien after six full seasons and four games into his seventh season.
Smith had been the Texans' defensive coordinator and associate head coach in 2021. He was previously a head coach for the Chicago Bears, where he took them to the Super Bowl and was Coach of the Year in 2005, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014-2015.
He was most recently the head coach at Illinois from 2016 to 2020 before joining the Texans last year.
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.
Smith's candidacy for head coach was officially acknowledged by the Texans on Monday morning.
He had not been named as a candidate for the Texans head coach, which was announced by the team throughout this process since last month.
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.
Brandon Scott is the senior digital content coordinator for SportsRadio610.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott.