Smith has previously served as a head coach twice in the NFL for 11 seasons with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He joined the Texans’ staff prior to the 2021 season from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was the school’s head football coach from 2016 to 2020.
“I have so many friends, family, teammates and coaches to thank for supporting me and helping me continue to do what I love, which is teaching and developing players,” said Smith, per a team statement. “I understand the responsibility I have to this organization and this city to develop a championship-level program. I’m ready to get to work and build it together.”
“A proven winner, Lovie has shown the ability to develop players both on and off the field for years,” said Texans general manager Nick Caserio. “We had numerous discussions with countless coaches, executives, and players, and what revealed itself is that Lovie has both the leadership and people skills it takes to lead us forward.
“We both understand how much work is in front of us, but we embrace the responsibility and look forward to continuing to build a program that can have sustained success.”
After the hiring of Smith was announced, lawyers representing Flores said they were happy the team hired a Black man to lead the Texans but “would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coach position and, after a great interview and mutual interest, it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.”
