The Houston Texans reportedly have a surprising leader in their head coaching search on Sunday night: Lovie Smith.
While reports earlier on Sunday seemed to indicate that either Josh McCown or Brian Flores would end up with the job, new reports suggest that it could be Smith’s to lose.
Smith, who previously coached the Chicago Bears and the University of Illinois, spent the 2021 season as the team’s associate head coach.
He has reportedly emerged as a top candidate for the head coaching job.
Texans have included Lovie Smith in their discussions all along, but his candidacy as head coach has gained steam in recent days, per source. https://t.co/fo8Vll4lFl
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2022
Texans insider Mark Berman has confirmed the news out of Houston. This could be moving pretty quickly.
Lovie Smith, #Texans associate head coach and defensive coordinator, is in discussions with team officials about potentially becoming the franchise’s next head coach. According to sources Smith has been involved in talks with the Texans throughout the search process about him… pic.twitter.com/nBhP9IcknS
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) February 7, 2022
Smith is certainly a more proven head coaching candidate than McCown, who could end up as a member of his staff in Houston.
Lovie Smith is a legitimately better coaching option than Josh McCown
— Payton (@paytonisnotroll) February 7, 2022
Still, it’s pretty surprising news.
Didn’t see that coming with Lovie Smith. Good for him.
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) February 7, 2022
Lovie Smith out of nowhere 😱 https://t.co/kvQtEe1XnZ
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) February 7, 2022
Smith, 63, was the Chicago Bears head coach from 2004-12. He was the NFL Coach of the Year in 2005. Smith later coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014-15 and the University of Illinois from 2016-20.
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