Texans coach Lovie Smith has begun meeting with franchise owner Cal McNair to plead his case for a second year with the team, amid concerns that he may be fired at the end of a likely league-worst season in Houston, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Though no decision has been made by the Texans to part ways with Smith, Rapoport reports that there are those in Houston that believe the 64-year-old coach could face a similar fate to his predecessor—David Culley—and be dismissed after just one season. The Texans enter Week 18 with the worst record in the NFL at 2–13–1.
Rapoport says that frustration has mounted in Houston’s locker room and front office over certain aspects of Smith’s program. An example of that lingering tension which spread to the Texans’ players involved receiver Brandin Cooks, who was stripped of his captaincy after he was unable to get himself traded ahead of the league’s November deadline.
According to Rapoport, the Texans were hoping to get more out of their 2022 season as they continued to search for a franchise quarterback. Despite a handful of young talented players, the team is still destined for a top-2 pick in the ’23 draft, which will likely be used upon a signal-caller.
Smith, a longtime coach at both the college and professional level, has a 91–100–1 overall record as a head coach with the Bears, Buccaneers and Texans in the NFL. He was named the league’s Coach of the Year back in 2005 and has made three different trips to the postseason
Despite his pedigree, Smith may be ousted to clear the way for the Texans to begin utilizing their bevy of draft picks in 2023. A loss or a Bears’ win or tie would guarantee Houston the No. 1 pick in April’s draft, in addition to an extra first and third-round pick that the franchise gained from trading Deshaun Watson to Cleveland last March.
