Houston Texans: Who are the winners with the Lovie Smith hiring?
By Billy Vidler
The Houston Texans have a new head coach, so who are the winners with this hiring?
Who wins with the Houston Texans hiring Lovie Smith as their new head coach? Are there any winners? Did they actually make a lateral move and could have stayed status quo? The long term answers will come, but for now there are short term winners in making Smith the new Texans head coach.
The NFL gets a win
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said he was concerned about the lack of minority head coaches being hired, stating he will strengthen the NFL hiring policies moving forward. The NFL gets a win with this hiring. Is it one that we should be happy about? Well, let’s leave that answer to your individual opinions on the subject.
Davis Mill gets a win
This hire isn’t likely going to make Deshaun Watson pick up the phone and beg to play for Coach Smith. Unless the Texans draft another quarterback, which isn’t out of the question, Davis Mills will be the starter under center.
With the Texans keeping Pep Hamilton on the staff as the offensive coordinator who made some nice strides with Mills, he can get him to average level, so this may be a bigger win for the team than any of us know.
The fans get a win
Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? That said, think of what could have happened. Josh McCown could have been hired as the new head coach with zero experience of coaching at any level. At least Smith has an NFL track record, has been to a Super Bowl and knows how to develop players. So this is a win for the fans.
If Lovie Smith can develop this team, and his staff can turn Mills into a solid game manager, the Texans can get back to respectability quicker than many of us thought. Now, it’s up to general manager Nick Caserio to bring in the right players in the draft and via free agency. Is this another win by the Texans?
The sun may actually shine on the Texans
Let’s offer Houston Texans fans this hope, the third pick in the draft will bring a quality player to a position of need on the roster. Evan Neal (offensive tackle), Kayvon Thibodeaux (EDGE) or Kyle Hamilton (safety), one of these players will be available when the third pick goes on the clock.
This is the beginning of building the team that can have success. The Houston Texans are bringing in coaches who can develop players, so would you take .500 record as soon as ’23 and the playoffs in 2024?
Coach Lovie Smith took a 5-11 Chicago Bears team to 13-3 and the Super Bowl in three years. Can he do it again? We all shall see?