On Sunday evening, the Houston Texans refused to pack it in and instead beat the Indianapolis Colts in the final game of the season.
Yet instead of acknowledging head coach Lovie Smith for refusing to let the team tank, the Texans fired their first-year head coach.
January always brings change in the NFL, so firings aren’t unexpected.
But the Texans’ decision to fire Lovie should not be dismissed or taken lightly for its part of an alarming pattern of mistreatment by the team relating to Black head coaches.
In 2021, Houston gave David Culley his first head coaching opportunity in his forty-plus year coaching career. Culley, an assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens, was also the only Black head coach hired out of seven vacancies.
He made history that season, something he’d done previously as the first Black quarterback at Vanderbilt University. Over four decades later at 65, he became the oldest first-time head coach in NFL history.
But after history was made, the precarious reality of Culley’s situation settled in.
He walked into a dysfunctional team and organization, one lacking talent and leadership.
JJ Watt was gone, D’Andre Hopkins had been traded to the Cardinals, Deshaun Watson stepped away due to the sexual assault and misconduct allegations and Shaq Lawson was traded to the Jets.
The team suffered from the horrendous coaching and talent decisions made by former coach, Bill O’Brien, who has been fired in 2020 after starting the season 0-4.
But the disarray wasn’t just on the field as team management was even worse.
The Texans tried to become the Patriots of the midwest, and the experiment backfired.
After firing former Patriots coach Bill O’Brien, they promoted Romeo Crennel, another member of the Patriots and Bill Belichick family tree, to head coach. He took over the 0-4 team and finished 4-12.
The Texans had previously brought in a vastly unqualified Jack Easterby, another former Patriots staff member, as their EVP of Football Operations. He’s the same Easterby that Sports Illustrated wrote this revealing and scathing feature on. Then they hired former Patriots GM Nick Caserio as their new GM.
This created a perfect storm with tragic consequences.
And Culley’s ship waded right into and was keeled by, those waters almost immediately.
With no real talent, Culley did all he could to clean house and navigate the choppy waters. Unfortunately, his role as clean up man didn’t translate to wins. He finished 4-13 and was fired after his lone season with the team.
“While a change after one season is unusual, we had philosophical differences over the long-term direction and vision for our program moving forward,” said Caserio in a statement at the time. “We appreciate Coach Culley for helping us navigate through a difficult season, but it is my responsibility to make decisions that I feel are best for our organization.
“Navigate through a difficult season” is truly ironic for that’s the position so many Black NFL head coaches are placed in.
Just ask Steve Wilks and Brian Flores.
In January 2022, there were nine NFL head coaching vacancies. Eight were filled before the Texans reluctantly turned in-house to Lovie.
At that moment, we knew Smith’s time was borrowed.
The Texans were basically talent depleted with no real plans to give Lovie the support he needed. They did the same to David Culley, so it wasn’t a surprise when the results were duplicated.
The Texans finished 3-13-1 this season and Smith, like Culley, was fired.
What Are The Texans Doing?
Houston’s decision to fire Black coaches in back-to-back seasons caught everyone’s attention, including Hall of Fame coach, Tony Dungy.
“What are the Texans doing,” tweeted Dungy. “What kind of operation is this where you don’t have any convictions about supporting the coaches you hire. Who is going to want to coach there if you might only get one year to implement your plans. Two years in a row is ridiculous.”
Dungy is absolutely right. Who would want to coach there?
We agree with Dungy, yet we all know what’s going to happen as it’s a cyclical NFL experience.
The Texans are going to hire a white coach, give him draft picks, managerial support, free agents and, most importantly, time to build a team. Then he’ll “miraculously” turn the franchise around and be lauded with praise for his efforts.
Meanwhile, Houston denied all of those things to their Black coaches who did the dirty work that the future head coach will benefit from.
Some feel Culley and Smith should have declined the offer but that’s easier said than done.
Culley had paid his dues and was given a shot at a position he worked more than half of his life to obtain. Lovie had been a head coach and it was obvious he wanted back in despite the fact that it was always going to be a one-and-done situation simply because his team lacked the talent to win games.
Lovie’s hiring was a placating decision.
According to John McClain, Easterby wanted Josh McCown, a Texans practice squad QB with zero coaching experience, as their head coach in 2022. But when Brian Flores dropped his bombshell racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL on February 1st, they audibled to Lovie.
To Lovie’s credit, the team played hard and almost beat both the Cowboys and Chiefs. But lack of talent failed them at the end of both games.
“It is my responsibility to build a comprehensive and competitive program that can sustain success over a long period of time,” said Caserio in a statement. “We aren’t there right now, however with the support of the McNair family and the resources available to us, I’m confident in the direction of our football program moving forward.”
Culley navigated through a difficult season and Lovie lacked resources.
To put it bluntly, they were both set up to fail.
So Now What?
So what happens now?
Does McCown, an unproven coach like Jeff Saturday and Trent Dilfer, finally get his chance as they did? A chance that no Black coach in the same position would ever get?
That wouldn’t shock anyone who has watched how the NFL operates.
But now everyone, including the NFL and Black coaches, media and civil rights leaders, needs to speak up and hold the Houston Texans accountable for what they’ve done to two well respected Black coaches.
They have humiliated Culley and Smith and it’s obvious they don’t care.
Some are foolishly saying Lovie brought it on himself as he went for two at the end of the game and won it, knocking them out of the number one slot in the Draft.
That’s just dumb.
The Texans really need a quarterback and Chicago already has one in Justin Fields. So unless the Texans were planning to ignore the most important position on the field and take Jalen Carter or Will Anderson Jr., they will take Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud. And if they want one of the aforementioned defenders, they’ll get one or the other after the Bears. Plus, they also have the 12th pick, so they’re still in a good position.
Unfortunately, like so many other Black head coaches, Lovie Smith and David Culley won’t get to draft and build their teams.
That very thing happened to Brian Flores. He finished 9-8 in 2021 and was fired. Then Miami got Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb and they still finished 9-8.
The Houston Texans have exploited and mistreated two qualified Black head coaches and they must be held accountable in some way. Unfortunately, they will probably avoid punishment and will continue operating as they see fit.
In reality, Houston has put three consecutive Black head coaches in impossible situations as Romeo Crennel, Culley and Smith played clean-up man for the organization in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively, before all being fired.
Then again, what else should we expect from an organization whose former owner called players “inmates”?
