Lovie Smith thinks Texans can repeat Bengals' path to success

Lovie Smith cannot be accused of thinking small as he takes over the Houston Texans’ head coach position.

Smith told Peter King of Football Morning in America that he has his sights set on emulating the Cincinnati Bengals, who went from four wins to a Super Bowl appearance. Smith apparently does not see why the Texans cannot do the same.

“We won four games this year. The Bengals won four the year before, and this was a big year for them,” Smith said. “We don’t have to wonder — we just saw a team do it. Someone’s going to make that jump. Someone always does. Why not us?”

While it’s true that every NFL team is ostensibly trying to win the Super Bowl every year, some have more realistic goals than others. The Texans are in the midst of a rebuild, and the biggest difference between them and the Bengals is that Cincinnati has a franchise quarterback in Joe Burrow. The Texans do not, despite Smith’s assertion that he expects the Texans to have a “good quarterback” in 2022.

At least Smith is optimistic, even if it may be misplaced. The rest of the league sees the Texans as fairly dysfunctional, though. If they even make the playoffs, that would count as a major surprise.