Stephen A. Smith Calls Out Texans For Treatment of Black Coaches

In the wake of the Lovie Smith firing, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith said Black coaches should avoid working for the Texans.

Stephen A. Smith called out the Houston Texans after firing coach Lovie Smith for their treatment of Black coaches. For the second consecutive year, the Texans let go of an African American coach after just one season.

The controversial ESPN personality made his remarks on Monday’s episode of “First Take,” adding that Black coaches should avoid the Texans.

“The Houston Texans organization, I’m going to say something loud and clear over the national airwaves and I don’t give a damn what anybody thinks,” Smith said. “African Americans need not apply. This is not an organization that has been fair to African Americans.

“As far as I’m concerned, if you’re an African American, and you aspire to be a head coach in the NFL, there are 31 teams you should hope for. You should hope beyond God that the Houston Texans never call you – not as long as [general manager Nick Caserio] is in there. Because it’s an embarrassment, and something needs to be said about it.”

Lovie Smith went 3-13-1 during his one season as head coach after spending the previous year as Texans associate head coach/defensive coordinator. Houston fired David Culley in 2021 after going 4-13 in his lone season.

Dallas Cowboys Hall-of-Fame receiver and “First Take” cohost Michael Irvin agreed with Stephen A. Smith, while also questioning Caserio.

“You said you don’t know why the GM still has his job,” Irvin said. “I would say, he still has his job because this has been the plan. How do you hire two African Americans, leave them one year and you get – you know the mess that Houston is? This is what we’ve always talked about. This is what I’ve heard Stephen A. and people in this business talk about all the time. We get the worst jobs, and we don’t get the opportunity to even fix the worst jobs because we get fired – just like Lovie, just like Culley last year.

“I don’t know any white coach who would take the job unless you give him some guarantees. But the African American coaches can’t come in with that power, because ‘Lovie wouldn’t have gotten another job. This was his last chance to try to get back in the NFL.’ So you have to take what’s on the table, to try to change it. And all of this because he won a football game.”

The Texans won their regular-season finale over the Indianapolis Colts with a two-point conversion, thus losing out on the No. 1 pick to the Chicago Bears.

The track record in Houston, especially under Caserio, suggests a systematic problem, according to Stephen A. Smith. He referenced the trade of Deshaun Watson, rumors that the Texans wanted to hire Josh McCown after last season, and the firings of the last two coaches as strikes against Caserio.

“Caserio shouldn’t have his job,” Smith said. “I’m trying to figure out why he’s still employed as the GM for the Texans.”

---

You can find Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.