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The Flores Effect: Houston Texans Hire Lovie Smith As Head Coach

The Flores Effect: Houston Texans Hire Lovie Smith As Head Coach

Smith

Photos: Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)/Houston Texans assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Lovie Smith during an NFL football, Dec. 5, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)

Lovie Smith has been hired as the next head coach of the National Football League’s Houston Texans, the team announced on Feb. 7. This comes on the heels of a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed against the NFL and several teams.

Is Smith’s hiring a sign of the Flores effect?

Flores was reportedly considered to be in the running for the position as well. 

Before the announcement, Smith was the associate head coach and defensive coordinator this past season for the Texans. He replaces David Culley, who was fired in mid-January, less than a year after being hired, ESPN reported. 

Smith will become one of the league’s few Black head coaches. Seven of the nine head-coach openings this hiring cycle have been or are expected to be filled by white candidates.

“I’m humbled to be the next head coach of the Houston Texans…I have so many friends, family, teammates, and coaches to thank for supporting me and helping me continue to do what I love, which is teaching and developing players,” Smith said in a statement. “I understand the responsibility I have to this organization and this city to develop a championship-level program. I’m ready to get to work and build it together.”

Smith, who was the 2005 AP Coach of the Year, has an 89-87 record as an NFL head coach.

Flores interviewed twice and was a finalist for the Houston Texans coaching job. His attorneys released a statement after the announcement of Smith’s hiring.

“Mr. Flores is happy to hear that the Texans have hired a Black head coach, Lovie Smith, as Mr. Flores’ goal in bringing his case is to provide real opportunities for Black and minority candidates to be considered for coaching and executive positions within the NFL,” said attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis. “However, we would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coach position and, after a great interview and mutual interest, it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.”

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Some on Twitter said Flores should have been the pick, and claimed Smith was being used as a Black token.

“It’s bullshit Brian Flores should be a head coach and Lovie Smith is just being used by the league,” tweeted Joshua Gonzales (@Winterhawk7753).

Others on Twitter thought the statement from Flores’ lawyer made the former coach seem bitter — and selfish.

“All due respect to Flores’ overall message this so disrespectful and arrogant. Lovie Smith is undoubtedly qualified to be an NFL HC and most would say more qualified. Maybe they chose who they thought was the better candidate. This doesn’t look you’re fighting for all of us to me,” tweeted Coach Rahju Blackmon (@CoachBlackmon50), co-defensive coordinator at University of Saint Francis.

“So if I have this right, black former head coach Brian Flores absolutely will not be satisfied until a black head coach named Brian Flores is hired,” tweeted The H2 (@TheH2).

Photos: Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)/Houston Texans assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Lovie Smith during an NFL football, Dec. 5, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)