The Houston Texans must understand that Lovie Smith will need some time.
When teams in the NFL don’t let their head coaches settle in and fire them after a short tenure, it always does more harm than good. Then there are those teams who fire their head coach after a winning season- an instance that baffles the mind.
Lovie Smith has been in both situations and now has his third stint as a head coach with the Houston Texans. Of course, with Houston starting a rebuild, there shouldn’t be any expectations that are taller than the roof of NRG Stadium itself. However, Smith is a respected coach, and Texans players were excited that he got the promotion.
Armed with a top-three overall pick (for now), the team’s first since 2019, Smith and general manager Nick Caserio have a chance to get the foundation right. As long as the pick isn’t an Alex Leatherwood-type of pick, it’s going to help the Houston Texans.
The Houston Texans must make Lovie Smith the head coach of the future
Houston needs to give Smith some time to work despite the rumors of Josh McCown sneaking his way into the head coaching spot in two years. The last thing needed is another coaching change and all the other hirings and firings that come with it.
Davis Mills showed progress last year, and that’s all you can ask for when the roster was that bad. However, the defense was the team’s bright spot, and if handled correctly, it may just be the reason the Texans have a chance to win the AFC South this year.
Smith can take the Texans to success, just like he did with the Chicago Bears. While there were only three playoff appearances, it still was seen as a good coach. This isn’t ignoring what happened to Smith in Tampa Bay. Yes, the record was terrible, but his roster also wasn’t very good.
Give Smith a few years, ignore McCown, and then revisit this in three to four years and see what needs to be done.