Houston Texans expected to hire Lovie Smith as head coach, sources say

The Houston Texans are expected to hire Lovie Smith as their next head coach, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Field Yates on Monday.

Smith was the Texans' associate head coach and defensive coordinator this past season.

Smith replaces David Culley, who was fired by the Texans in mid-January, less than one year after he was hired. Under Smith, Houston's defense ranked 23rd in Football Outsiders' Defense-adjusted Value Over Average but had 25 takeaways in 2021.

Smith was previously an NFL head coach with the Chicago Bears (2004-12) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014-15). He joined Culley's staff after being fired after five seasons as head coach at the University of Illinois.

Smith has an 89-87 record as an NFL head coach and was the 2005 AP Coach of the Year.

Smith, who is Black, joins the Miami Dolphins' Mike McDaniel, New York Jets' Robert Saleh, Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin and Washington Commanders' Ron Rivera as the league's only minority head coaches.

The Texans' selection of Smith and the Dolphins' hiring of McDaniel came after former Miami head coach Brian Flores filed a racial-discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos last week over the interview processes in New York and Denver and his firing by Miami.

The Texans will not receive compensatory draft picks through the Smith hire. Under the league's Rooney Rule, teams receive two third-round picks for developing a minority assistant who is hired for a head-coaching job. However, because Smith is not leaving for another team and has not been on Houston's staff for two years, the Texans will not receive compensation.

After Culley was fired on Jan. 13, Texans general manager Nick Caserio did not commit to Smith