Lovie Smith has lost his job after just one season
The Texans have extended their streak of one-and-done coaches from one to two.
The team has announced that Lovie Smith has been fired after one year on the job.
The team fired Smith late Sunday night, hours after ending a 3-13-1 season with a 32-31 win over the Colts that cost Houston the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. It was Smith's only season as coach and the second straight one in which the Texans have fired a coach after one year.
It's the second straight season in which the Texans have fired a coach after one year. They parted ways with David Culley last January after he went 4-13 in his only season.
«I'm constantly evaluating our football operation and believe this is the best decision for us at this time,» general manager Nick Caserio said in a statement announcing the team parting ways with Smith. "It is my responsibility to build a comprehensive and competitive program that can sustain success over a long period of time. We aren't there right now, however, with the support of the (team owner) McNair family and the resources available to us, I'm confident in the direction of our football program moving forward.»
As for Smith, it looks like this came as a surprise as he was expecting to come back after Sunday's win over the Colts.
«A couple things, and that's all I'm going to say about that,» Smith said after the game in Indianapolis. «First off, there are reports. I don't know what the reports are. . . Do I expect to be back? Yeah, I expect to be back. Absolutely.»
The 64-year-old Smith was one of the few Black coaches in the NFL along with Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin, Tampa Bay's Todd Bowles and Miami's Mike McDaniel, who is biracial. The league requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching positions, but has long fallen short of its goal to increase the number of Black coaches in a league where the majority of players are Black.
