ESPN reporting Lovie Smith to be hired as HC by Texans
February 7th, 2022 at 2:57 PM ^
It’s kind of nuts as he was on Culley’s staff. Why not just keep Culley who did a fine job last year with the team he was given.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:12 PM ^
Seems like Culley was supposed to be a stop-gap for them to hire Josh McCown this year, but the Flores situation changed their plans. Not a good look to fire a black coach who did okay given the circumstances, just to hire a white guy with no professional or collegiate coaching experience.
I imagine Lovie will serve as a stop-gap coach akin to Culley, with McCown on the staff to replace him when they start losing (probably a given considering the talent on the roster).
February 7th, 2022 at 3:36 PM ^
I believe I saw reports that McCown will not be on the staff. Our old friend Pep is supposed to be the OC.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:41 PM ^
Replacing Culley with Lovie? Strange. I think Smith is a bit past his sell by date. But after Culley the Texans will not be able to fire him after a year no matter how badly they do. Will they??
February 7th, 2022 at 4:23 PM ^
Seems like Culley was supposed to be a stop-gap for them to hire Josh McCown this year, but the Flores situation changed their plans.
I don't think the timeline actually bears this out.
Culley was fired Jan 14. If this was simply to clear the way for McCown, they had almost 3 weeks to make their hire before the Flores lawsuit blew up.
I think there was some recent momentum behind the McCown hire, and it may have been for Nick Caserio to have a young and impressionable coach to mold in whatever way he chose. And, I don't think you're wrong that the Flores suit/situation made it impossible for the Texans to hire a coach (McCown) with literally NO coaching experience.
But I don't think Culley's firing had anything to do with McCown. Nor do I think McCown is lying-in-wait for next year's Texans opening. My guess is McNair is going to ride with Lovie for at least 2 seasons come hell or high water, just so they're not replacing 3 head coaches in 3 consecutive seasons. And like others have said, McCown doesn't appear to be set to join Lovie's staff.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:00 PM ^
Sounds like a Lions move. Owners desire for status quo, not winning.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:16 PM ^
Aka, owners’ desire for minting more money.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:38 PM ^
Not really. I think 4 of the last 5 Lions HC have been first time HCs, not retreads. In fact off the top of my head, Ross, Mariucci and Caldwell are the only retreads hired by the Lions in the last 30 years.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:51 PM ^
Going back to '57, you can only add Don McCafferty to that list. How about this list of rookie head coaches:
George Wilson
Harry Gilmer
Joe Schmidt
Rick Forzano
Tommy Hudspeth
Darryl Rogers
Wayne Fontes
Marty Mornhinweg
Rod Marinelli
Jim Schwartz
Matt Patricia
Dan Campbell
That is the most uninspiring list of mediocrities ever. Of this list and the four guys who had been a head coach before, only Wilson got a head coach gig after leaving the Lions. Ouch!
February 7th, 2022 at 4:13 PM ^
Looks like a place to go if you want to kill your future coaching career.
February 7th, 2022 at 4:15 PM ^
What a SOL list! Have any of them ever taken another head coaching job post Lions? My memory goes back to Forzano/Rogers and don't recall any of them getting another job.
February 7th, 2022 at 8:55 PM ^
You can go back to Adam and Eve and not a one of them has even been offered another head coaching job post Lions unless you count Dick Jauron who had only interim misfortune.
February 7th, 2022 at 5:36 PM ^
Hard to believe this same franchise once had both Belichick and Shula as assistant coaches. If they would have elevated one of those men to the HC position, the franchise would probably be in a whole different place right now.
February 7th, 2022 at 7:19 PM ^
You're missing Monte Clark on this list of awesomeness.... an easily understandable oversight.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:00 PM ^
If I were a Texans fan I would be extremely underwhelmed.
February 7th, 2022 at 4:39 PM ^
The NFL does have a habit of re-hiring old coaches. MLB was that way for years, too, and still see old .500 managers get rehired.
February 8th, 2022 at 4:36 AM ^
If you were a Texans fan, you would be so numbed by their trading/releasing of good players and losing that you wouldn't care anymore. You would only go to games to tailgate.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:01 PM ^
So Harbaugh is not attractive because of his age, yet Lovie Smith is, who is 63? Bizarre.
February 7th, 2022 at 4:04 PM ^
I am sure Lovie is a fine man. But why him? He's been around the block several times and accomplished some things with the Bears in the 12-15 years ago. Since then...Tampa Bay was awful and he did nothing to establish Illinois as anything but a bottom feeder. You want to hire a qualified Black coach? What about Leftwich? Or Bieniemy? Or Aaron Glenn? Or Raheem Morris? Or Todd Bowles? Or Jerod Mayo?
Or is it that Lovie, at 63, will be grateful for this last opportunity and unwilling to rock a boat that needs some serious rocking?
February 7th, 2022 at 4:07 PM ^
I'm sure Lovie Smiths contract/salary negotiations are VERY attractive compared to Jim's.
February 7th, 2022 at 5:28 PM ^
I don't think Harbaugh's age is an issue. Baalke badmouthing him might be though.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:01 PM ^
He coached a team to a SB. Deep experience. Seems like a fine hire.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:16 PM ^
That Super Bowl appearance was a lifetime ago. The teams he's coached since then, the Bucs and Illinois, never exactly lit the world on fire. In fact they were pretty downright awful.
I have no doubt that he's likable and well-respected by his players, but it seems like the game has passed him by.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:24 PM ^
Yeah, but he coached a team to the SB with Rex Grossman at QB! How many other coaches can say that? (Answer: none)
February 7th, 2022 at 3:01 PM ^
Wow...that's...wow...
February 7th, 2022 at 3:02 PM ^
Hes probably going to be the gap coach for the rebuild. Bring in an experienced guy who can help hire the right people to coach up their (assuming) young roster. He retires or they move on when most of the pieces are in place.
Either that or his beard is hypnotizing
I kind of assumed this was the approach the Lions wanted to take with Campbell, but he may actually be a decent coach.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:04 PM ^
Can't have a high draft pick if you win too many games
That's my only guess
February 7th, 2022 at 3:55 PM ^
Can't you just pay your coach to lose games? Seems like I heard something about that recently.
February 7th, 2022 at 5:31 PM ^
Isnt hiring Lovie Smith to be your head coach the same thing as paying your coach to lose games?
February 7th, 2022 at 3:05 PM ^
Terrible hire by a terrible organization.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:05 PM ^
Down vote me sure, but what does he have over Harbaugh?
February 7th, 2022 at 3:11 PM ^
is the beard too obvious?
February 7th, 2022 at 3:18 PM ^
Never doubt the hypnotic power of Lovie's beard!
February 7th, 2022 at 3:22 PM ^
I keep waiting for a family of squirrels to emerge from that thing.
February 7th, 2022 at 4:10 PM ^
Along with a Big Mac combo meal.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:15 PM ^
Sometimes a better personality and being a people person gets you in a door a more talented individual who is difficult to work with won't get in.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:37 PM ^
A majestic beard.
February 7th, 2022 at 7:20 PM ^
He's willing to take the Texans job, for one.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:09 PM ^
What a disaster the Texans have been. I'm a Lions fan, so I'm not exactly rooting for a first-class organization, but the Texans have made some absolutely wretched decisions through several different decisionmakers.
It's remarkable they've had as much on-field success as they have. But they're working to rectify that.
Lovie can probably do a lot better for them than for Illinois, but still: They're just kind of circling the drain right now.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:11 PM ^
Damn.... so he's not going to be our next defensive coordinator either.... all the good options are gone!
j/k
February 7th, 2022 at 3:11 PM ^
As a Lions fan I always appreciate it when another team does something like this and reminds me we aren’t the only inept franchise in the league.
February 7th, 2022 at 4:50 PM ^
If you're going to be *something*, then be the *best* at it!
February 7th, 2022 at 3:13 PM ^
As a Bear's fan, I have a love/not so "Lovie" relationship with him. He's a good coach. But he has a "golly, gee, that sounds good" type of approach. We'll see if this works with the Texans.
February 7th, 2022 at 10:38 PM ^
"Rex is our quarterback"
February 7th, 2022 at 3:39 PM ^
This made my day!!! Thank you sir.
February 7th, 2022 at 4:07 PM ^
translates to: Houston, we have a problem.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:22 PM ^
and Caldwell's still searching for a HC job.. wow
February 7th, 2022 at 3:22 PM ^
LOLvie.
While a good man and apparently well-liked, I have always thought of him as a mediocre-to-average head coach, even when he suddenly found himself (without a ticket, even!) in the Super Bowl once.
I wish him luck at Houston, no doubt he's going to need a ton of it.
February 7th, 2022 at 3:23 PM ^
And they will continue to suck out loud. I can't believe I am saying this, but it just might be better to be a Lions fan than a Texans fan. I think the Texans will prove to be the more inept franchise for the forseeable future.