The Cincinnati Bengals provided tremendous hope for moribund franchises across the NFL.
Cincinnati, who hadn’t won a playoff game since 1990, went on a three-game winning streak in the AFC playoffs to meet the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Although the Bengals failed 23-20, they succeeded in giving optimism to teams looking for a quick turnaround.
The Houston Texans are one of those clubs hopeful they can have similar success as Cincinnati. New coach Lovie Smith spoke with Sports Illustrated’s MMQB and talked about how the franchise itself wasn’t that far away not too long ago.
“Two years ago, we had a big lead [24–0 against the Chiefs in the divisional round], looked like we were getting ready to go deep in the playoffs,” Smiths said. “Things can happen quickly. When I mention the Cincinnati Bengals, that should give all of us hope of how there’s parity in the NFL and things can change quickly. You lay your foundation and then you go to work.”
Smith underscored that he had a plan for the Texans to right the ship in 2022, and it didn’t just formulate in his mind as soon as he got the job.
Said Smith: “It’s not like when I got into this chair, I said, ‘All right, what are we going do in training camp? Offseason program, what is it going to be like?’ We have a plan. You put your plan into place, which we’re going to do, and go to work.”
Smith also mentioned that the Texans are “kind of ahead of the curve” in the fact that he and second-year general manager Nick Caserio are “on the same page” in terms of how they view personnel. Cohesion on that front is vital as the Texans have ample draft picks and salary cap space to complete the rebuild.