HOUSTON (Sports Radio 610) - The Houston Texans have officially named their replacement for David Culley, announcing the promotion of defensive coordinator Lovie Smith to head coach.
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.
“I am excited to introduce Lovie Smith as our next head coach,” said Texans General Manager Nick Caserio. “He is one of the most respected coaches in the NFL and an established leader. A proven winner, Lovie has shown the ability to develop players both on and off the field for years. We had numerous discussions with countless coaches, executives, and players, and what revealed itself is that Lovie has both the leadership and people skills it takes to lead us forward. We both understand how much work is in front of us, but we embrace the responsibility and look forward to continuing to build a program that can have sustained success.”
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.
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“I want to first thank Nick Caserio and the McNair family for giving me this opportunity,” said Smith. “I’m humbled to be the next head coach of the Houston Texans and incredibly excited to continue to work with Nick. I have so many friends, family, teammates and coaches to thank for supporting me and helping me continue to do what I love, which is teaching and developing players. I understand the responsibility I have to this organization and this city to develop a championship-level program. I’m ready to get to work and build it together.”
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.