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Lovie Smith Fired

djohn2oo8

All Pro
Texans CEO Cal McNair says he understands that criticism.

But it wasn’t just the team's record that led McNair and general manager Nick Caserio to fire Smith, McNair said in an exclusive interview with the Houston Chronicle on Monday night.

“We weren’t happy with what was happening,” McNair said. “That’s what led to the decision. I don’t know that you can say we were expecting if we got four wins he would have stayed. I don’t think it was that simple.”



When asked whether Smith’s decision to go for the two-point conversion bothered him, McNair said it didn’t.

“I couldn’t believe we got it,” he said. “I thought we were going to overtime. That’s why (the players) are playing. They have a lot of pride. And they want to play next year. To play next year, you need to put good things on film.

“(It's) just not in my nature or any of our nature to ask a team to go out there and not win.”



“When you look at the statistics, when you look at the wins, you look at how many home games did we win,” McNair said. “And I know these national guys, they don’t study the team like y’all do. Y’all have watched every game. I doubt they have watched every game. During the middle part of the year, it was hard to watch some of those games. Jacksonville was a hard game to watch.”



“But you look at the whole body of work and not just one thing in particular,” McNair said. “Are you convinced that you are seeing the progress you want to see? Are you seeing the players develop? Are you seeing all these different things? Adaptability? Can you play one way one week and another way in another week? Change things at halftime?”

Before Smith was fired, some wondered whether Caserio’s job was in jeopardy. By keeping him and allowing Caserio to be part of the decision to fire Smith and hire a new coach, McNair is giving his general manager a little more leeway — at least for now.

“He has done a good job with personnel,” McNair said. “When I look at these young guys, they are the ones making plays we see on Sunday. And they really are in a bright spot. The draft picks … to work through what we worked through these last few years, as far as trading a certain player and somehow getting the value that we got in trading that player and how that will give us a boost into this space that we’re heading into, puts us in a really good spot.

“His efforts to clean up the cap, work on the roster and do all these things has gotten us to (where) I’m really excited about the future and our opportunities. I give him a lot of credit for doing that.”



But one of the biggest questions will be whether those coaches, who are all highly sought after, or any top coach will want to come to Houston given the recent history of firings. McNair said the only thing he and Caserio can do is be honest with the candidates and explain their position when asked.

McNair said he’s committed to putting a winning team on the field and hopes the coaching candidates see that.

“We’re going to be fearless and make hard decisions,” McNair said. “The easy thing would be to not make hard decisions. But that’s not my belief. …We need to challenge ourselves and try to push ourselves to be the best we can be. And if that means making a hard decision and being more involved somewhere to get us a great team on the field and get these fans, which are great fans, something to be in the building cheering for and having more home playoff games, that’s what we want.”
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Rumor has it Cal canned him as soon as they got back to Houston. Not even off the plane. Also, just a rumor is he was fired because he didn't blow the game. However, it could be true seeing it would have given the 1st pick to us. A tweet is apparently around that shows Cal looking very upset when the team takes the lead. Just the opposite of what you would expect in your teams owner when his team is winning.
I really think Lovie is a good guy. & I wanted him to succeed. He's got a good story.

But, I don't think he called that miracle TD to Akins before the 2 point conversion. I know Cal isn't the sharpest crayon in the box, but winning that game had nothing to do with Lovie.
 

Texian

Hall of Fame
When did Waddle ever play 'first fiddle'?

Besides that Metchie had more receptions and was on the field more in less games than Williams, because you know, they both had different but each very important and meaningful roles in the offense.
There draft position seem to disagree with you.
 
Also, just a rumor is he was fired because he didn't blow the game. However, it could be true seeing it would have given the 1st pick to us. A tweet is apparently around that shows Cal looking very upset when the team takes the lead. Just the opposite of what you would expect in your teams owner when his team is winning.
I know Cal isn't the sharpest crayon in the box, but winning that game had nothing to do with Lovie.
Lovie messed up the potential "Splash" planned for the draft. #1 overall pick in a new Texans uniform would have been perfect for marketing a new beginning...with hopes of generating more excitement and $$$.
 

SnakeEyes

Under NRG
Lovie messed up the potential "Splash" planned for the draft. #1 overall pick in a new Texans uniform would have been perfect for marketing a new beginning...with hopes of generating more excitement and $$$.
The rumors that I have seen, heard or read are these.

1- Cal fired Lovie on the plane. Hence why Lovie said he would be back next year after the game. Yet it was announced he was fired before what would of been the HC press conference in Houston.

2- Cal wanted to secure the 1st overall with a loss. However, be it a plan or just not great play to stop a drive by the Texans in the 4th...we won. Twitter even has a post of Cal looking upset when we took the final lead.

Here is a full article, including the picture in question about how Cal felt after we took the lead. Ask me, he is not looking like a happy man.

 

OzzO

.. and then?
... Cal wanted to secure the 1st overall with a loss. However, be it a plan or just not great play to stop a drive by the Texans in the 4th...we won. Twitter even has a post of Cal looking upset when we took the final lead.....
It may not have been the "upset we're winning" look by the realization of what about to happen on the plane back to Houston. Never fun having to let someone go, even if they are underperforming.
 

zshawn10

All Pro
What are you hearing about the attractiveness of the Texans job within the industry? Do back-to-back one-and-dones (David Culley, Lovie Smith) give any potential candidates pause? Does Houston not having the No. 1 pick matter to top coaching candidates?

Fowler:
Sneaky-good job. The Texans will have an estimated $47 million in cap space and 11 picks in the draft, including two selections in the top 12. Players from the rookie class, such as Dameon Pierce and Jalen Pitre, flashed major potential. Coming off back-to-back coach firings -- a bad look, to be sure -- the Texans know and seem to acknowledge they must change their ways. They can't afford the status quo. Some top candidates will have this job ranked higher than the average fan might think, though not too high, given the well-documented culture problems there.
Graziano: If you were a coaching candidate who was interested in Houston because it had the No. 1 pick and you knew (and agreed with) the decision about which quarterback to take, then the Texans falling to No. 2 would give you at least some pause, because it introduces some uncertainty into the mix. But Houston still has two picks in the top 12, so it has some basis for a strong draft foundation, as well as a lot of cap space. So it's not completely unattractive. Still, the fact that the Texans are hiring a new head coach for the third offseason in a row would make me wonder, and I do believe there are candidates who would look elsewhere or even consider staying in their current jobs rather than taking one where there's that much risk of being out after a year.


Other head-coach/GM/coordinator rumblings
Graziano:


  • ▪
    Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon impressed the Texans in interviews last year and should be a strong candidate for the job again this year. If he does get that job, I've been told one of the names to watch for his offensive coordinator is Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley, who has a connection with Texans GM Nick Caserio from Caserio's time in New England.
 

Speedy

Former Yeller Dweller
Ryans is my #1 choice. He's the one I'd truly be pumped about. And I'm down with LaFleur as OC if Ryans is the guy.
I'm just afraid the Texans would hire him simply as a pump up the fan base move. I mean, if he interviews great, has a great plan, then fine. But don't hire him simply because he's a fan favorite that would excite the fans and maybe get butts back in seats.
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
I'm just afraid the Texans would hire him simply as a pump up the fan base move. I mean, if he interviews great, has a great plan, then fine. But don't hire him simply because he's a fan favorite that would excite the fans and maybe get butts back in seats.
At this point, Ryan's would be chosen mostly because the Texans are under the false assumption that popularity instead of actual team success drives fans back into the stadium.
 

Mollywhopper

Facilitator
Staff member
What part of #6 is better than #12 do you not understand? That's the definition of first fiddle all the way.
So when you were referring to Metchie playing second fiddle to Williams, and Waddle and Smith's relative roles as well, you all of a sudden weren't just talking about their times at Alabama?

If so, fair enough..
 
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