Report: Lovie Smith to coach Bucs
A person familiar with the negotiations says former Bears coach Lovie Smith has reached an agreement to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaking to The Associated Press on Wednesday night on the condition of anonymity because an official announcement hasn't been made, the person also says former Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier will be the Buccaneers' defensive coordinator.
The 55-year-old Smith will replace Greg Schiano, fired Monday after going 4-12 this season and 11-21 in two years with the team. Frazier also was fired Monday.
Smith was 81-63 in nine seasons with Chicago, leading the 2006 team to the Super Bowl — where the Bears lost Indianapolis. He was fired a year ago after the Bears finished 10-6 and missed the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.
Smith was Tampa Bay's linebackers coach under Tony Dungy from 1996-2000, then spent three seasons as the St. Louis Rams' defensive coordinator on Mike Martz's staff.
Texans to introduce O'Brien:Bill O'Brien worked closely with Tom Brady when O'Brien was a Patriots assistant. He's now set to return to the NFL to coach Houston, and he's a long way from Brady. The Texans have the No. 1 draft pick, and O'Brien might well find himself having to groom a rookie quarterback. Two people familiar with the negotiations, speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because an official announcement hadn't been made, said Tuesday night that O'Brien reached an agreement to coach the Texans. He is expected to be introduced today.O'Brien, who succeeded the legendary Joe Paterno at Penn State in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, will become the third coach in Texans history, following Dom Capers, who led the team from its expansion season in 2002, and Gary Kubiak. Kubiak took over after Capers was fired following Houston's 2-14 season in 2005. Kubiak went 61-64 and led Houston to its first two playoff appearances and two AFC South titles before being fired in early December.O'Brien inherits a team filled with talent, but whose biggest problem is at quarterback. Veteran Matt Schaub, Houston's starter since 2007, was benched after six games. Case Keenum took over after that, but his lack of success showed he wasn't the answer either, and the team finished on a 14-game skid.