NFL Rumors: Houston Texans Eying Josh McCown and Lovie Smith As Assistants
In what has been a very chaotic offseason for the Houston Texans, the team has finally found the man to lead them into their next chapter. They hired David Culley as their next head coach, who most recently was an assistant coach under John Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens.
They are looking to surround Culley with coaches that can help him get the team back to relevancy, and are looking at former NFL quarterback Josh McCown and former NFL head coach Lovie Smith to support the first time head man.
NFL Rumors: Houston Texans could be hiring individuals with different levels of experience
Houston Texans could not be targeting more different individuals from an experience perspective to round out their staff. As recently as this season, McCown was being paid to be an emergency quarterback by the Philadelphia Eagles. The veteran quarterback was reportedly being compensated $12,000 per week in order to remain away from the team facility in case there was an outbreak in their quarterback room.
Although McCown has played for 17 years in the NFL for many teams including the Eagles, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns most recently, he has no coaching experience at the professional level. Before the Houston Texans settled on Culley as their head man, they were reportedly considering McCown for the lead role, which was intriguing considering his lack of experience.
Lovie Smith, on the other hand, has a tremendous amount of coaching experience in both the college ranks and in the NFL. Smith most recently was the head coach of the University of Illinois football team, but was relieved of his duties a few weeks ago. He’s also been a head coach in the NFL for 11 years, nine of which were with the Chicago Bears. He led them to the Super Bowl in the 2006-2007 season, and finished with an overall record of 81-63 in his time there.
Smith was also the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after his stint in Chicago, but it did not go as well as his first job. He compiled an 8-24 record in two years with the team, before moving on to coach in college. It’s unclear exactly what role the Houston Texans have in mind for the veteran coach, but since he has spent most of his career on the defensive side of the football, it seems reasonable to think that Houston Texans may hand over defensive coordinator duties to him if the hiring becomes official.