CNN
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When Lovie Smith was hired by the Houston Texans as the team’s new head coach in February 2022, he said that the NFL “A Problem” With the hiring of black coaches and diversity.
“I realize there is an amount of black head coaches in the National Football League,” Smith told reporters just over a year ago.
“There’s Mike Tomlin and I think there’s me, I don’t know any more. So there’s a problem, and it’s clear to us. And once there’s a problem, what are you going to do about it?” ?”
Blacksmith was fired on monday At the end of his only season at the helm the Texans finished with a 3–13–1 record.
Smith is the second black coach in two years relieved of his duties by the Texans, who fired David Culley at the end of the 2021 season.
Smith’s time there wasn’t full of victories and high marks – although his parting gift to the organization was a last-minute Hail Mary victory over the Indianapolis Colts, which left him the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Chicago Bears. But his Texans team showed cohesion and ability, traits often desired by organizations undergoing a rebuild.
Houston general manager Nick Cesario said that Smith’s dismissal was the best decision for the team at this time.
“On behalf of the entire organization, I want to thank Lovie Smith for the contributions he has made to our team over the past two seasons as a coach and a leader,” Cesario said in a statement.
“I am constantly re-evaluating our football operation and believe this is the best decision for us at this time. It is my responsibility to create a comprehensive and competitive program that can sustain long-term success. We are not there yet, however, with the support of the McNair family and the resources available to us, I am confident that our football program is moving forward.
But the dismissal of the 64-year-old coach, the Texans organization as a whole, and measures implemented by the league to promote diversity have been heavily criticized by former players and TV pundits.
“Houston Texans fired Lovie Smith after 1 year. Using 2 black head coaches to tank and then firing them after 1 year shouldn’t sit right with anyone,” former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III tweeted on sundayWhen news of Smith’s firing spread.
On ESPN, Stephen A. Smith and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin as well. condemned the decision, Smith called the Texans organization an “atrocity”.
“They’re an embarrassment. And as far as I’m concerned, if you’re an African American, and you aspire to be a head coach in the National Football League, there are 31 teams you should aspire to. God bless you.” Beyond that should be hoping the Houston Texans never call you up,” Smith said.
Irvin said that black coaches were being used as “scapegoats” by the Texans.
“It’s a mess in Houston and they bring these guys in and they make them scapegoats. And this is what African American coaches have been whining about for a while and it’s obvious, right in our faces. , “They said.
When CNN contacted the Texans for comment, the team highlighted the moment at Monday’s news conference when Cesario was asked why any black coach would consider working for the team, and his response was that personal Candidates have to make their own choice.
“In the end it’s not about race. It’s about finding quality coaches,” said the general manager. “There are a lot of quality coaches. David (Cooley) is a quality coach. Lowery (Smith) is a quality coach.
“Ultimately, every coach has their own beliefs. Every coach has their own philosophy. Every coach has their own comfort level about what we’re doing. All I can do is be honest and candid, which I’ve done that since the day I took this job, and I will continue to do so and try to find a coach that we feel will bring what matters most to me.This organization. That’s the easy way, and that’s my commitment.
“That’s what I’m hired to do, and that’s what I’m in a position to do. At some point, if someone feels that it’s not the right decision for this organization, I have to respect that.” And I have to accept it.”
CNN has contacted Lovie Smith for comment.
At the start of the 2022 season, NFL.com reported Smith was one of just six minority head coaches in the NFL, a low number in a league where nearly 70% of the players are black.
Since Art Shell was hired as the first black head coach in modern history by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1989, 191 people have been hired as head coaches, but just 24 have been black.
However, the NFL has taken steps to increase diversity in the coaching ranks.
Specifically, in 2003, the NFL introduced the Rooney Rule to reform recruiting practices to “increase the number of minorities hired in head coach, general manager and executive positions”.
But the Rooney Rule has not been an unqualified success.
In 2003, the Detroit Lions were fined $200,000 for not interviewing any minority coaches before hiring Steve Marucci as their new head coach.
In response to the criticism, the NFL announced that it would Diversity Advisory Committee To review the hiring practices of external experts the previous March. Teams would also be required to hire minority coaches as offensive assistants.
Despite rule changes being implemented in recent years to strengthen it, 2022 lawsuit alleges Some teams have implemented “sham” interviews to meet the league’s diversity requirements.
Last February, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a federal civil lawsuit against the NFL, New York Giants, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins organizations, alleging racial discrimination.
Flores, who is Black, said in his lawsuit that the Giants interviewed him for their vacant head coaching job under controversial circumstances.
Two months after filing the initial lawsuit, Flores added the Texans, alleging that the organization had fired him as head coach because of his decision to file this action and speak publicly about systemic discrimination in the NFL. I declined to hire this offseason.
In response to the lawsuit, the Texans stated that “our head coach search was very thorough and inclusive.”
NFL told Flores allegations Virtuous
The league said in response to the lawsuit, “The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equal employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equal opportunities throughout our organizations.”
“Diversity is important to everything we do, and is something our clubs and our internal leadership teams spend more time on. We will defend these claims, which are baseless.”
But 12 months after firing its last black head coach, the Texans have fired another.
“How do you hire two African Americans, keep them for a year and then get rid of them?” questioned NFL Hall of Famer Irvin,
“You know the mess that Houston is,” Irvin said. “We get the worst jobs and we don’t get the chance to fix the worst jobs.
“I don’t know any great white coach who would take the (Texas) job unless you guarantee them something. ‘You have to guarantee me four years to turn this place around.’ But African American coaches can’t come with that power because Lowery would not have found another job.
“It was his last chance to get back in the NFL and you have to put what’s on the table to try to turn that around.”
The Texans are now searching for a new head coach under General Manager Cesario. The new appointment would be Cesario’s third coach in the role: it is almost unprecedented for a general manager to have the opportunity to hire a third head coach with the same team.
Texans Chairman and CEO Cal McNair said he would take a more active role in the recruiting process. The next head coach will be of the organization fourth in three years,
According to the NFL, the Texans have already made requests to speak with five candidates about filling Smith’s position, a list that includes two black coaches.
After Smith was hired in March 2021, McNair said: “I’ve never seen a more thorough, inclusive and thorough process than what Nick (Cesario) went through with our coaching search.”
In that introductory news conference, Smith spoke candidly about how to bring more diversity to the NFL coaching ranks.
“People in positions of authority — head coaches, general managers — you have to have discussions about trying to get more black athletes into some of the quality control positions throughout your program. If you get it, They can go up, it’s just a way of getting more.”
Smith continued: “It’s not just an interview, if you’re interviewing a black man. It’s about having lots of people to choose from who look like me. And it’s just a matter of talking. No. You look at my employees, that’s what I believe in. And letting those people show you who they are. That’s how we can grow it, then it’s up to the people to choose. We Everyone has the opportunity to choose, and I think we’ll make it.