Texans Promote Pep Hamilton to OC, Retain Frank Ross As Special Teams Coach

With Lovie Smith now the man in Houston, and his staff is already coming together

Matt Galatzan | Feb 7, 2022

After nearly a month-long search, the Houston Texans have officially announced the hiring of their new head coach, Lovie Smith.

Now, Smith's staff is already beginning to take shape, with passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton reportedly being promoted to offensive coordinator, and Frank Ross expected to retain his position with the special teams.

"The Houston Texans have hired Lovie Smith as the team’s fifth head coach in franchise history," The Texans said in a statement. "The Texans also promoted Pep Hamilton to offensive coordinator and retained Frank Ross as special teams coordinator."

Hamiton is coming off of his first season as the team's passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, after spending the 2020 season as the quarterbacks' coach for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Hamilton has also interviewed for the offensive coordinator position with both the New York Giants and Chicago Bears and has been requested to interview for the same position under Doug Pederson's staff with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Last season under Hamilton, the Texans ranked 28th in the NFL in passing offense, averaging just 194.4 yards per game through the air.

Like Hamilton, Ross is also coming off of his first year with the franchise, after spending three seasons as the assistant special teams coach with the Indianapolis Colts.

Smith's hiring, and the subsequent retention of Ross and Hamilton, came less than 24 hours after Smith was announced as a candidate by the team, and previous finalists Josh McCown and Jonathan Gannon were eliminated from contention.

McCown was removed from the race shortly after the elimination of Gannon, with former Dolphins coach Brian Flores being eliminated on Monday.

Published Feb 7, 2022

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com