The NFL world is in shock as the Houston Texans are hiring Lovie Smith as their next head coach.
He was the team’s defensive coordinator in 2021, but was never reported as a legitimate candidate to take over.
Josh McCown and Brian Flores were the top candidates as of the weekend.
But perhaps public perception on both, and the ramifications of hiring either, made the Texans make a safer choice.
Thus, Smith gets his third shot to lead an NFL team after previously serving as head coach of the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before a stint in college with Illinois.
Houston’s new head man: pic.twitter.com/uk9SdrRRMh
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2022
The Texans seemed to hire David Culley as a lame duck head coach last season.
The NFL world is left wondering if Smith is being hired in the same way this year.
The Texans really hired Lovie Smith because they couldn’t hire Josh McCown. How can you handle a coaching change search so bad?
— Chase Snyder (@ChasingSnyder) February 7, 2022
NFL World Reacts To The Lovie Smith Hire
This entire situation is bizarre and hopefully Smith knows what he’s in for with the Texans.
The Texans are a disaster. It's so obvious that they wanted to hire Josh McCown, but realized it was a PR nightmare. Now, instead of committing to the other "finalist," Flores, they have to hire Lovie Smith because they already fired David Culley🤦♂️
— Greg Pinto (@Greg_Pinto) February 7, 2022
Am I hyped about Lovie Smith getting the Texans’ HC job? No, if I’m being honest I’m not. Could it have been a lot worse? You absolutely bet it could have been.#Texans #LovieSmith
— Cole Wheeler (he/him) (@thecolewheeler) February 7, 2022
The confusing thing here is that the Texans fired David Culley after one season.
Yet they are hiring someone who was on his staff, and that means Smith will likely keep much of the staff intact.
So what was the point of firing Culley in the first place if this is the final result?
Especially when they fired Culley because he wouldn't let go some of his assistants https://t.co/PiMechZ7mQ
— Senatra_MIA (@Rod_Legenddary) February 7, 2022
Imo Culley got fired because he didn’t tank. Dude had the worst roster and didn’t do a terrible job. https://t.co/9yuBZ3ZRVv
— Hunt (@hfalls25) February 7, 2022
The Texans had plenty of time to do this process properly and seemed to rush near the end once other teams started to fill their vacancies.
This is not to say that Smith can’t do great things in Houston.
He led the Bears to the Super Bowl in the past and is a veteran coach who already knows those on the roster.
This is just not much of an inspiring hire given the way it all played out.
NEXT: NFL World Reacts To Latest Texans HC Update
