The Houston Texans spent a month-long coaching search after the firing of David Culley following the 2021 season to reach the conclusion Lovie Smith was perfect for the job.
Despite Smith being the defensive coordinator and associate head coach on the same staff that oversaw the 4-13 campaign that scuttled the Culley era just as it was beginning, general manager Nick Caserio decided to promote Smith.
According to Louis Riddick from ESPN, who was also a candidate for the Texans’ general manager job in 2020, the biggest worry for the Texans going forward is their current coach.
Is Lovie Smith the best option to lead this team on a massive roster rebuild/development project? I like what the Texans did from a talent acquisition standpoint on paper, but the man in charge of developing and using that talent, offensively and defensively, leaves me with more questions than answers relative to his peers.
At 64 years old, it is totally fair to wonder about Smith as the coach for the Texans. Houston may be looking at a Dom Capers type of tenure from Smith as opposed to a Gary Kubiak or even Bill O’Brien type of commitment. Whether Smith excels as Houston’s coach or not, the organization has to be looking around the corner at possibly the third coaching hire of the Caserio era.
For the 2022 campaign, Smith has shown a willingness to adapt his patented Tampa 2 scheme to today’s offenses. Furthermore Smith is giving Pep Hamilton a shot at offensive coordinator, not just to maximize his Stanford connection with second-year quarterback Davis Mills, but to give the 47-year-old a reasonable platform to display his attributes that would make him a qualified coaching candidate — whether with the Texans or another NFL team.
The Texans can count on Smith in the near term. The future leaves ambiguity.