Another disappointing Texans’ season will come to an end this weekend. But will that mean the end of Lovie Smith’s tenure after just one season?
Speculation is it could go either way following Sunday’s regular-season finale at Indianapolis. After the recent NFL.com report that the team will “evaluate everyone” at the conclusion of the season, the idea that Smith could be the Texans’ consecutive one-and-done coach and that the team will be conducting a search for its third coach in as many seasons seemed to gain steam.
The speculation that Smith could be fired after just one season is a complete reversal of the thinking just a week ago that he would be given another season, but with some likely changes to his coaching staff. Surely, things can’t move forward as is with the Texans set to finish the season with the NFL’s worst record.
But firing Smith would seem to be shortsighted. The veteran NFL coach was handed a job that was always going to be impossible to have a lot of immediate success with given the void in talent after general manager Nick Caserio almost completely turned over the roster, dumping valuable veteran players without much thought.
Caserio has certainly put both Smith and David Culley – African American coaches – in unwinnable situations over the last two seasons.
The most glaring void offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and Smith have had to endure this season is at quarterback. Second-year quarterback Davis Mills has done nothing but prove he isn’t the answer. It’s become so bad in recent weeks that Hamilton has reverted to the collegiate two-headed monster quarterback system, intermittently using Mills and Jeff Driskell to create some resemblance of an NFL quarterback.
It seems almost certain that the Texans will grab either Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud with the first of their two first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.
But the lack of explosive and difference-making talent isn’t just at quarterback but seemingly all over the field at the skill positions and the defensive front. It’s hard to win much in the NFL with the talent Smith has to work with.
But to Smith’s credit, he will never point the finger at the Texans’ across-the-board lack of talent. He shoulders the blame for the Texans’ NFL-worst 2-13-1 record going into the final week.
“I don’t quite know how to answer that,” Smith said when asked to evaluate how he has coached this season following the Texans’ 31-3 loss to AFC South rival Jacksonville.
“We’ve won two games. When I talk about what the players haven’t done, I mean, we’re leading them. I’m leading the team. So, it’s pretty simple on how I’ve done this year. Haven’t done as good enough of a job to win games.
“So sometimes I mean it ends up like that for whatever reason,” Smith said. “I know we showed up; we’ve been trying hard but we didn’t get it done. What I’m focusing on as much as anything is we have one more opportunity to get a win, and then after that you can look at the body of work and what we’ve done with what we’ve been working with.”
Speculation is intensifying with former Saints coach Sean Payton circling in the water and looking for a new head coaching job. Former Texans linebacker and current 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans has also become one of the top hot head coaching prospects and would make an interesting hire in Houston.
But either of those moves comes with some risks. While Payton walked away from the Saints more than a year ago and is considered to be one of the best offensive minds in the game, he remains under contract in New Orleans and the Saints are said to be asking for a first-round draft pick from the team that hires him. Payton also will want a great deal of power and influence, which would also likely mean the Caserio experiment would be over after two tumultuous seasons.
While hiring Ryans would create some excitement among the Texans fan base, he is unproven as a head coach.
Smith, meanwhile, symbolizes stability for the organization that seems to be constantly in flux. But at 64, he does have that feeling of being just a placeholder while the Texans look for or develop their coach of the future.
At any rate, the Texans have some big decisions to make in the next seven days or so. It doesn’t seem right to move on from Smith so quickly, but this is the NFL, which often stands for Not For Long.
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Brittney Griner will play for the Mercury in 2023
After 10 months of captivity in Russia, WNBA star and Houston native Brittney Griner let her intentions be known of her plans for the upcoming WNBA season. “I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon,” Griner said via her Instagram page.
Could James Harden return to Rockets?
There are rumors that former Rockets star James Harden wants to return to play for Houston next season. Harden, who forced his way out of town two years ago, is currently playing for the Philadelphia 76ers but can become a free agent this summer. Harden has denied the rumor he wants to return and the Rockets have not commented.
PVAMU recognizes athletic academic success
Prairie View A&M Athletics celebrated the Fall 2022 student-athletes by recognizing them for their achievements in the classroom. In all, 214 student-athletes achieved a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better, with 26 of them posting 4.0 GPAs. As a whole, the PVAMU student-athlete population achieved a GPA of 3.02, with nine teams – track and field encompass indoor/outdoor as well as cross country – achieving a team GPA of 3.0 or above.
