Houston Texans fire Lovie Smith after one year
(Credit: Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
The Houston Texans have fired head coach Lovie Smith after one year in charge, following their season finale victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Smith’s dismissal marks the second year in a row in which the Texans have fired their head coach after just a season at the helm, with David Culley being let go following the 2021 campaign.
The Texans final day victory over the Colts means they have conceded the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and moved above the Chicago Bears to No.2 with the win.
Smith was one of six minority head coaches in the NFL during the 2022 season (not including interim coaches).
Following a nine-season tenure with the Chicago Bears from 2004-2012 that included a Super Bowl appearance, and a two-season stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014-2015, Smith went to the college ranks and coached at Illinois for five seasons. He returned to the NFL as an assistant coach for Houston in 2021 before taking over for Culley in 2022.
He finishes with a 3-13-1 record with the Texans.
It is unclear who is in the conversation to replace Smith, with Bills’ quarterbacks coach Joe Brady among the early frontrunners.
But whomever the Texans hire as head coach, he will likely be tasked with finding the next franchise quarterback. Davis Mills, a third-round pick in 2021, has struggled this year and Houston will almost certainly draft a QB in April.
