Rick Smith will be named Houston Texans general manager in a Monday afternoon news conference, sources inside the Texans organization confirmed Saturday.
And though Smith could not be reached for comment, I think I have an idea of what he would have said.
No comment.
He learned the game on the field and off it in old-school ways, mixing caution with preparedness, confidence with fervor to learn more, do more. His climb up the Broncos chart went from assistant coach to scouting to personnel expert to contract negotiator to assistant general manager. Houston was not the only NFL team tapping on his door. The St. Louis Rams were reportedly eyeing him, too.
Smith served the Broncos in a variety of capacities. Oftentimes, he was a confidant of Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. Broncos owner Pat Bowlen pulled Smith into his inner circle. Some players used him as a refuge. Some of the troubled ones, like Maurice Clarett in training camp last year, were tossed into his lap.
Smith used a caring approach with brutal honesty in his discussions with Clarett. This was a player he had advised against drafting, as had several others in the Broncos front office.
But Smith did his part in the team’s effort to make it work.
And that is an imprint he leaves after 10 years with the Broncos.
He did his part. He served. He served them well.
Houston owner Bob McNair noticed.
When McNair decided the only GM the Texans had ever had – Charlie Casserly – had to scoot, his search for a new man would first hinge on character. That trait means everything to McNair, maybe even more than football acumen. Two days before the recent NFL draft, while maneuvering through Times Square, McNair hinted to me over the telephone that his No. 1 pick had to be a player of tangible character. That at that spot and with those dollars, he would not have it any other way.
Sure, the Texans did not draft Reggie Bush in part because they could not sign him predraft.
But as imperative a factor was Bush’s alleged shenanigans while still at USC with agents and the elaborate home his parents lived in and the innuendo and fallout that created. McNair wanted no part of that.
He would want no part of such with his new GM.
And McNair knows in Smith, 36, he has the character he seeks.
The first time I met Smith was during the John Lynch-NFL office-headhunting issues just before the 2004 season NFL playoffs.
In our discussions about it, I saw a rare ability, one in which he endorsed and even pushed the Broncos’ views while clearly stating and respecting the league’s stance. That is a thorny dance. He aced it.
You could see his fervor to learn more, do more.
Shanahan could see it.
When Shanahan and I had a conversation just before the draft about Casserly’s likely move out and Smith’s possible move in at Houston, Shanahan said he “thought the world” of Smith. That it was among the reasons he had just promoted him to assistant GM. That the idea of Smith to Houston was not far-fetched because Smith could do the job. And because Gary Kubiak would be comfortable with him.
Kubiak’s hire as Houston head coach preceded Smith’s move. Both from the Broncos, both schooled, in part, by Shanahan and Bowlen. The Smith/Kubiak relationship is an asset. Both must work tirelessly to ensure that it does not become an albatross. Two men of similar ilk must challenge the other in NFL business to speak with as much passion when there are differences as they do when there is agreement. Then mend wounds. And move forward.
Together.
Smith will do his part.
I have no doubt that some within the Broncos organization wish him well, some are envious and others are disinterested. Smith’s move gives the Broncos a chance to be creative in finding a replacement, either moving someone up or reaching outside for a new, fresh face with powerful ideas. It will not be an easy replacement. I figure Shanahan, with ingenuity, will fill the void.
There is one left with the Broncos today.
But there is also joy in some corners of their building and around the league over this African-American rising to a stature in this league – general manager – that is tough to obtain by any measure and even more elusive for minorities to achieve.
In this role, the Texans have a man who will learn more, do more.
For his new team. For his new franchise. For his new community. For his new state.
Rick Smith always had a rich, soulful plan in pro football. It extends beyond the game.
Now he gets to work it.
And do more.
Staff writer Thomas Georgecan be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
