The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Houston Texans hired defensive coordinator and associate head coach Lovie Smith as their fifth full-time coach in team history on Feb. 7. With that hiring calls into question who will call the defensive plays in 2022.
Smith was unabashed in his answer that he will retain defensive play-calling duties in his first season with the AFC South club.
“You know, this past year I had so much fun,” Smith said at his introductory presser on Feb. 8. “I’ve never — of course, I’ve been a head coach a while. A lot of those years I was heavily involved with the defense. I’m at the purity of the sport I love coaching. It’s getting my hands on. So, to get around to answer your question, I loved calling plays last year. I will calling the defenses this year.”
Part of Smith’s rationale is that offensive-minded coaches throughout the league retain their play-calling duties throughout games, but there seems to be less defensive coaches that do so.
“Just look around right now: most of the offensive head coaches that are offensive guys, they call the plays,” said Smith. “For some reason, a lot of the defensive guys don’t. I think I can help our program the most right now with me in that same role. So, I will be doing that.”
The Texans finished 31st in yards, 27th in points allowed, but did collect 25 takeaways, tied for the 10th-most in the NFL in 2021. The Texans were the only team with a losing record to finish in the top-10 in takeaways. Given that takeaways are Smith’s calling card, it is reasonable to presume that the abundance of extra possessions will continue with the 63-year-old retaining play-calling duties.