Brian Flores' Criticism Of Texans' Lovie Smith Hire Just Plain Silly

Lovie Smith is the new head coach of the Houston Texans, and it appears Brian Flores doesn't like it. With some of the things Flores and his legal team have asserted lately, that's not necessarily a surprise.

Flores, of course, recently filed a lawsuit against three NFL teams for alleged racial discrimination. He was reportedly one of three finalists for the Texans job after the suit. But the job went to Smith, another qualified black coach, and now Flores' legal team has released another statement.

This one congratulated Smith for landing the gig, but claimed that the only reason Smith got the job was because of Flores' discrimination suit. Basically, Flores' reps want you to believe he's an outcast now because he blew the whistle.

"Mr. Flores is happy to hear that the Texans have hired a black head coach, Lovie Smith, as Mr. Flores' goal in bringing his case is to provide real opportunities for black and minority candidates to be considered for coaching and executive positions in the NFL," the statement read. "However, we would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans' head coach position, and after a great interview and mutual interest, it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand against racial inequality across the NFL."

Well, actually, that's probably not the only reason. For one, Smith has extensive experience as a head coach -- as in, 11 years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears combined (89-87 record, 2004-15). Smith also spent last season as the Texans' associate head coach under former head coach David Culley, who has since been fired. So Smith is already familiar to the organization.

As OutKick founder Clay Travis said, this is just a bad look for Flores, who really does seem like a quality coach. After all, his Miami Dolphins finished 9-8 this past season after a 1-7 start. It was indeed strange that the Dolphins decided to make a coaching change, but they insist it had nothing to do with Flores' race.

It's hard to argue with that because teams fire coaches for dumb reasons all the time. Coaches generally are the fall guy when their team fails to make the playoffs. Fair or not, that's just the way in goes in the whacky world of pro sports.

Also, keep in mind that no one came out and said Flores was one of thee finalists. That was based on word from a reporter who doesn't exactly have a reputation for accurate exclusives.

Does Flores have a right to be mad that he was fired by the Dolphins and didn't get the Texans job? Yes and yes. Of course he does.

But Clay is right. Congratulating Smith while condemning the Texans is just a bad look. And maybe before Flores goes any further in trying to find his next job, he should start looking for his next legal team.

"Did no one tell Flores that suing the NFL was unlikely to help him get a job in the NFL?" Clay asked. "How many people hire people who file lawsuits against them? Flores really got awful legal advice. He should be suing his lawyers instead of the NFL. They cost him tens of millions of dollars."

Houston is allowed to hire whoever it wants for the job, and it clearly felt Smith was the best candidate. By demeaning the Texans, Flores' representatives are demeaning Smith. And that's the opposite of what Flores is supposedly hoping to accomplish.

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