The Houston Texans’ promotion of Lovie Smith to coach seemed like a safe move, and also one that generated doubts as to how much upward mobility the franchise had long-term in the AFC South.
According to general manager Nick Caserio, who joined the “Pat McAfee Show” with Pat McAfee and A.J. Hawk, Smith’s experience with winning teams is what weighed heavily in the organization’s decision to promote their defensive coordinator and associate head coach to the role of fifth full-time coach in team history.
“Going back to your question, A.J., Lovie has a lot of experience,” Caserio said. “He’s seen a lot of football. It’s kind of funny. My first year in New England was 2001. I was like literally a janitor in the building. So, I wasn’t really doing much, but that year we played the Rams in the Super Bowl and Lovie was the defensive coordinator. So, here we are however many years later, 20 years later, we’re running the team and running the franchise together. So, Lovie has a lot of experience with a lot of good teams, a good defenses.”
