Texans fire Lovie Smith, after one year

The Texans have extended their streak of one-and-done coaches from one to two.

The team has announced that Lovie Smith has been fired after one year on the job.

The former Bears and Buccaneers (and Illinois) coach got the job under bizarre circumstances last year. A member of the coaching staff under former coach David Culley, Smith wasn’t one of the three finalists for the job, and then he suddenly got the job.

It will be interesting to see how the Texans explain the decision. It’s not as if Smith had a loaded deck of players in 2023.

In his final game, Smith scored a late win over the Colts. The victory cost the Texans the first overall pick in the 2023 draft.

Smith, 64 led the Bears to Super Bowl XLI in 2006. He coached Chicago from 2004 through 2012, and the Bucs in 2014 and 2015.