"Went with a very safe option" - Shannon Sharpe believes Texans chose Lovie Smith over Josh McCown to avoid backlash from fans
Early Monday morning it was reported that the Houston Texans were working out a deal to hire Lovie Smith as their next head coach. The Texans fired David Culley after just one season in 2021.
Former NFL tight end and Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe voiced his opinion on the thought process that went into possibly hiring Smith instead of other candidates like former NFL quarterback Josh McCown. Sharpe believes that the Houston Texans thought that they had to hire Smith simply because of a discussion of the lack of minority coaches in the National Football League.
"For me Skip if I can be in all honesty, I believe in my heart of hearts. They wanted to hire Josh McCown and they knew the optics of how that would look. All these minority candidates with NFL coaching experience, be a head coach, be an offensive coordinator, be a defensive coordinator and you go hire a guy from high school. That's not a head coach, that's not an OC or DC. The optics of that considering what's been permeating out of that locker room for over the last five or six years would have just been awful and I think they went with a very safe option" - Shannon Sharpe on Undisputed
Sharpe mentioned that he is a big fan of Lovie Smith and commended him on what he has done throughout his career. He believes the Houston Texans knew that with all of the talented coaches available right now, there was no way that they could hire McCown, who was recently coaching at the high school level.
Texans didn't have to look far to find new head coach Lovie Smith
From NFL Now: The #Texans are finalizing a deal for Lovie Smith to be their head coach. https://t.co/m7wy2dfhPy
The Houston Texans have reportedly hired Lovie Smith as their new head coach and are working out contract details. The 63 -year-old, was already with the Houston Texans organization since last offseason. He was hired as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans.
The Houston Texans are moving towards naming Lovie Smith their new Head Coach
#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE #WeAreTexans https://t.co/ZRkgU1Ibsr
The prospective Texans new head coach spent 2004-2012 as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, even leading them to a Super Bowl appearance and losing to the Indianapolis Colts.
He then coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014-2015, his last stint in the NFL before signing with the Houston Texans last year.
He will now step into a tough position as the head coach of the Houston Texans. With the lingering issues of quarterback Deshaun Watson who didn't play in 2021 and the process of rebuilding the roster on both sides of the ball, this won't be a job for the faint of heart. His lengthy experience as a head coach will certainly be required.