Lovie Smith Appreciation Post

Attend the tale of Lovie Smith. A man you shouldn't tangle with.

Lovie Lee Smith was born on May 8, 1958 in Gladewater, Texas, and grew up in nearby Big Sandy, about 110 miles east of Dallas. He was named for a great aunt, Lavana. He was one of the greatest defensive players that Texas high school football has ever had, and was an All-American linebacker at the University of Tulsa.

He never played professionally, going right into coaching. After returning to his Almas Mater, both Big Sandy High School and Tulsa, he coached at Wisconsin, Arizona State, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio State. From 1996 to 2000, he was part of the revival of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was linebackers coach, helping to make Derrick Brooks a Hall-of-Famer. In 2001, he became the defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, helping them win the NFC Championships, although they lost Super Bowl XXXVI.

In 2004, at a time when there were few black head coaches in the NFL, he was named head coach of the Chicago Bears, and he led them to the 2006 AFC Championship, although they lost Super Bowl XLI. That remains the Bears' only Super Bowl appearance in the last 37 years. He remained their head coach until 2012. He coached the Buccaneers in 2014 and '15. In 2016, he was hired as head coach at the University of Illinois. He led them to a bowl game in 2019, but was fired after a losing season in 2020.

The Houston Texans had interviewed him for their head coaching position in 2012, and hired him as defensive coordinator in 2021, under head coach David Culley. From 2011 to 2019, the Texans had won 6 AFC South Division titles, but were now in rebuilding mode, having lost quarterback Deshaun Watson because they had to drop him after his scandal, and defensive end J.J. Watt after an internal dispute.

Someone in Texans management made the decision to sacrifice at least the next 2 seasons, in the hope of getting big draft picks with which to rebuild. The team finished 4-13 in 2021, giving them the 3rd pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. They used it on a cornerback, Derick Stingley Jr., son of an Arena Football League player and grandson of ill-fated New England Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley. But the Texans really needed a quarterback, and that draft was so weak at that position that only 1 was chosen in the 1st 73 picks.

And Culley, who is black, was made the scapegoat for a poor season, even though he had very little to do with the Texans' struggles. Smith was appointed to replace him, but things were no better. Most of the Texans' problems were in place before Culley, let alone Smith, was there, and there was only so much that Smith could do.

After a season-opening tie with the Indianapolis Colts, the Texans lost 12 of their next 13 games. And 6 of those losses were within one score, so they weren't that far from respectability, if only team management had decided to try a little harder.

The Texans went into their season finale, away to the Colts, with a record of 2-13-1. A loss would have given them the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. After the performance he put up this season, including in last night's 65-7 demolition of Texas Christian University, the top pick is likely to be Stetson Bennett, who has now quarterbacked the University of Georgia to back-to-back National Championships.

But Texans management had let Smith know that he would be fired after the game, no matter what. They would go into the 2023 NFL Draft and season with a new head coach. For the 2nd year in a row, they would make the head coach pay for their previous mistakes. At the least, this was a rotten thing to do, to both Culley and Smith. At most, it was a message: We'll hire black coaches to make ourselves look inclusive, but we won't keep them if they lose for us.

Lovie Smith wasn't having it. He knew that if the Texans won their last game, it would be his former team, the Chicago Bears, who also desperately need a new quarterback, who would get the top pick. Lovie followed the lead of a previous black NFL head coach, Herman Edwards, "You play to win the game." More than that, in a great example of what English soccer fans would call "shithousery," he did it to spite the team officials who had set him, and Culley, up for failure. The Texans won, 32-31.

Lovie Smith is a mensch. He has heart, he has guts, and he has just the right amount of pride: Not so much that it would cause his fall, but enough that he will fight for the honor of himself, his players, his team's fans, and his sport. Which, to paraphrase Groucho Marx, is more than the Texans' officials had done.

I don't know what Lovie is going to do next season. I don't know what the Texans are going to do next season. But they are going to do it without either Lovie Smith or Stetson Bennett. And team owners Janice and Cal McNair, and general manager Nick Caserio, have nobody to blame but themselves.

Bravo, Lovie.