Tony Dungy Blasts Texans For Firing Lovie Smith

The Texans are now facing backlash from Super Bowl head winning head coach Tony Dungy after firing Lovie Smith

Matt Galatzan | Jan 9, 2023

The Houston Texans fired head coach Lovie Smith on Sunday night after just one season, making him the third coach fired by the Texans in as many seasons after David Culley in 2021, and Bill O'Brien in 2020.

And now, the Texans have begun to face backlash for their decision on Smith, with former Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy, coming to the defense of his former assistant on Twitter after his firing.

"What are the Texans doing?" Dungy said in a tweet. "What kind of operation is this where you don’t have any convictions about supporting the coaches you hire? Who is going to want to coach there if you might only get one year to implement your plans? Two years in a row is ridiculous."

Smith coached under Tony Dungy for five seasons as a linebackers coach helping to develop the famed Tampa 2 defense alongside defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin.

During their time together utilizing the Tampa 2, Dungy, Kiffin and Smith led the Buccaneers to a 45-35 record and made the playoffs in three out of five seasons.

In those seasons, the Buccaneers' defense was one of the most feared in the NFL, though the trio was never able to bring home a Super Bowl title, while in Tampa Bay.

Nevertheless, Dungy has always been a supporter and believer in Smith and came to his defense of his former pupil one more time on Sunday.

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Published Jan 9, 2023

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