The Houston Texans are one of only two head coaching vacancies left in the NFL. There were nine jobs to fill after the season ended and only the Texans and New Orleans Saints are left after the Miami Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel earlier Sunday. As ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported, the Texans might be closing in on their target as well.

They are believed to be in talks with former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith for their head man. Smith was the head coach of the Bears from 2004 to 2012. After being let go, he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014-2015. Smith then moved on to coach at the University of Illinois for five seasons until returning to the pros this past year.

Smith was the Texans Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator in 2021.

Despite the lack of success for the Texans overall, Houston's defense performed well at times. Lovie Smith was known as one of the better defensive coaches when he led the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006-2007.

The Texans fired former head coach David Culley after a 4-13 season, his first as an NFL head coach. The four wins might have actually outperformed expectations. Houston had one of the worst rosters entering the season. They have dealt with all of the drama surrounding quarterback DeShaun Watson over the last year.

It remains to be seen if Watson is traded. Rookie quarterback Davis Mills appeared to get better as the season progressed this year. It'll be interesting to see if Smith, or whomever eventually is hired, will stick with Mills or look in another direction.