The Houston Texans changed things up with the promotion of defensive coordinator and associate head coach Lovie Smith to the big role.
The Texans got an experienced coach who led the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl at the end of the 2006 season, and won NFL Coach of the Year the season prior. Smith’s promotion also keeps the continuity on both sides of the ball that the team developed during the one-year David Culley regime.
Second-year quarterback Davis Mills likes where the Texans are at after their offseason program and first day of mandatory minicamp.
“We’ve brought in a lot of guys with a lot of experience,” Mills told reporters Monday at Houston Methodist Training Center. “I feel like everyone is really bought into what we’re trying to do out here. I feel like we’ve really set the standard for how we want to treat things around this building and how we want to go at things, practice and working out wise, meeting wise.
“I feel like we’re in a really good spot and we have a lot of good leaders on the team who are leading the team in that direction.”
The Texans have committed 2022 to the former third-round pick from Stanford. Mills has the keys to Pep Hamilton’s offense as the Texans seek to win more than four games for the first time since 2019.
“I feel like I’m at a good spot,” said Mills. “Obviously there’s still a lot of room to grow, but more confident, more comfortable out there with the offense and my teammates around me. Ready to keep progressing and head into the season.”
Mills started off his rookie campaign with an 0-6 mark before being benched for the next four games. After Tyrod Taylor hyperextended his non-throwing wrist in Week 13, the Texans re-inserted Mills into the lineup and never looked back as the rookie went 2-3 down the stretch with a 9-2 touchdown to interception ratio and a 102.4 passer rating.
