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Here's why the Texans will make the playoffs under Lovie Smith
Mar 2, 2022, 11:37 am
Where's the Love? Photo by Getty Images.
9 important Texans takeaways from Lovie Smith's press conference
When the Texans got rid of David Culley after one season, eyes immediately fixated on general manager Nick Caserio. Caserio made the bizarre Culley hire last offseason and had moved on from him with the prospect of hiring their new, presumably long term, head coach.
Rumors and speculation were running rampant on who’d get the job. People were choosing sides and collectively losing their minds. It really got tense when Josh McCown was assumed to be the next hire. It was a bad enough Culley was seen as a placeholder because he didn’t have any previous head coaching experience. Hell, he hasn’t even been a coordinator before! McCown was seen as a similar hire with buddy ties to Jack Easterby. Anyone associated with Easterby is pariah adjacent.
The shock when Lovie Smith was not only retained, but promoted to the head coaching gig was awesome! People were caught off guard because they got sucked into the rumor vortex and believed McCown, Brian Flores, or Jonathan Gannon were the finalists. (Mostly because that's what the Texans posted on their own social media platforms). When reports started circulating about Smith, lines were drawn and people took sides.
Some thought it was a great hire because of the yeoman’s work he did with the defense. Others were upset because the guy they wanted wasn’t hired. The subsets within are even crazier. Personally, I’m happy Smith was given the opportunity and believe he can lead this team through the rebuild and beyond.
When rebuilding a team, it’s void of talent. The best way to rebuild is through the draft so you have tons of young cheap talent and don’t over spend on vets. You want a mix of vets to help the youngsters along, but the right kind of vets who understand the goal. Lovie is the guy for this type of rebuild.
He’s been a head coach previously. He may only be slightly above .500 for his career, but he’s also brought a team to a Super Bowl and coached six playoff games (3-3). He’s been a coach and coordinator on the NFL and college levels. At 63 years old, he’s been around the game long enough to understand it, but has achieved players' coach status. That was evident when current Texans spoke highly of him after his hire.
If Caserio did his due diligence and settled on Smith, it was by design. He’s a smart enough guy to know the impact this hire would have and made his choice. He’s coming into his second year of a six-year deal. Getting this hire wrong could cut short his first GM gig and may even preclude him from getting another one. Why would he hire another placeholder as coach? That doesn’t make sense.
If Caserio believes in him, so does ownership. When the players expressed they believed in him and nobody had a bad word to say about him, that tells me he’s a man of integrity. An underrated part of this hire was keeping Pep Hamilton. He will man the offense while Smith handles the defense. It’ll be Caserio’s job to give them the ingredients to cook the right meal. I can see the three of them working well together.
I love Lovie and I love this hire. I truly believe he will lead this team to its next playoff appearance, provided Caserio does a good enough job of acquiring talent. If he can do what he did this past season with a defense void of much talent, imagine what he can do with a few more weapons? Let’s see how it goes this season and next. While I’m not expecting an 8-10 win season next year, I do expect an improvement. If they find a franchise quarterback and build around him, I can see playoffs within two to three years. I love Lovie! How about you?
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Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.
The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.
For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.
“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”
As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.
Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.
He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.
Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.
It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.
I’ve seen some speculation indicating that Joe Mixon may not be happy the Texans signed Nick Chubb. If that is what you believe, watch this clip from an interview with @greenlight pod last year & get back to me. pic.twitter.com/3vaip85esj
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 11, 2025
*ChatGPT assisted.
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