Texans fire coach Lovie Smith after one season

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The Houston Texans fired head coach Lovie Smith after finishing the 2022-23 season with a 3-13-1 record, the team announced.

Texans owner Cal McNair announced the firing Sunday night, hours after the Texans beat the Indianapolis Colts in their final game of the season. McNair said he met with general manager Nick Caserio and Smith to inform the coach the Texans were "moving in a different direction."

"I appreciate coach Smith and his entire family for their contributions over the last two seasons," McNair said in a news release. "We are grateful for his leadership and character, and we wish him the best moving forward.

"While we understand the results have not been what we had hoped for, we are committed to building a program that produces long-term, sustainable success. Our fans and city deserve a team that they can be proud of. I will work alongside Nick Caserio throughout this process and I'm confident we will find the right leader for our football team."

Smith served as the Texans' defensive coordinator in 2021 and was named head coach in February. The Texans tied the Colts in their first game of the season. They went on to lose 12 of their next 13 games. They won two of their final three games.

"On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to thank Lovie Smith for everything he has contributed to our team over the last two seasons as a coach and a leader," Caserio said. "I'm constantly evaluating our football operation and believe this is the best decision for us at this time.

"It is my responsibility to build a comprehensive and competitive program that can sustain success over a long period of time. We aren't there right now, however, with the support of the McNair family and the resources available to us, I'm confident in the direction of our football program moving forward."

Smith owns a 92-100-1 overall record in 12 seasons as an NFL head coach. He went 81-63 in nine seasons with the Chicago Bears. He also logged an 8-24 mark in two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 2005 Coach of the Year entered the NFL coaching ranks in 1996 as a linebackers coach for the Buccaneers. He served as the head coach at Illinois from 2016 through 2020.