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Te XAN S
Rick smith
General Manager
12th NFL Season • 3rd with the Texans
Executives
Rick Smith enters his third season as Texans
general manger after being named to the post
on June 5, 2006. Over the last two seasons, Smith
has re-shaped the Texans roster that recorded
a franchise-best eight wins in 2007. For his efforts
in pulling the Texans closer to becoming
a winner, Smith received the prestigious Tank
Younger Award in 2008 presented annually by
the Fritz Pollard Alliance for outstanding work in
an NFL front office.
As general manager, Smith oversees all aspects
of football operations, salary cap management
and budgeting. He works closely with the
coaching and scouting staffs to build the club
roster via free agency as well as overseeing the
annual college draft.
At 38 years old, Smith is the youngest general
manager in the NFL. In his first two seasons at the
helm, Smith has assembled a front office staff
that has the Texans pointed towards sustained
success in the NFL. During the 2007 offseason,
Smith acquired QB Matt Schaub via trade from
the Atlanta Falcons. Schaub led the Texans with
2,241 passing yards despite missing five games
due to injury. Schaub set a Texans record by
passing for 1,005 passing yards in September.
He also set the Texans record with an 87.2 QB
rating in his first season.
The Texans later signed WR André Davis, who
blossomed in 2007 as he tied an NFL record with
two kickoff returns for touchdowns in Week 17
against Jacksonville. Davis set Texans records
with three kickoff returns for touchdowns and a
30.3 kickoff return average in a single season.
He was named the AFC Special Teams Player of
the Month in December. The Texans also signed
unrestricted free agents RB Ahman Green, DT
Jeff Zgonina and CB Jamar Fletcher who all
made key contributions to the Texans in 2007.
Smith has navigated the Texans through injury
troubles over the last two seasons. Houston
had to overcome a league-high 17 players on injured
reserve in 2006 to register six wins tripling
their win total from the season before. Houston
again placed 17 players on injured reserve in
2007, including six starters from the first game of
the season. Key starters also missed significant
time last season, including Schaub (five games)
and Pro Bowl WR Andre Johnson (seven
games). Despite the injuries over the past two
seasons, the Texans need only five wins this
season to eclipse their win total from 2002-05,
prior to Smith’s arrival.
In his first NFL Draft, Smith used the Texans
first-round selection on DT Amobi Okoye, the
youngest player taken in the modern draft.
Okoye was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the
Month in September after recording four sacks
and he tied a Texans rookie record by recording
a sack in three consecutive games. He set the
Texans rookie record for sacks in a season with
5.5.
Smith later selected WR Jacoby Jones in the
third round. Jones set the Texans single- season
record with a 9.5-yard punt return average.
CB Fred Bennett was taken in the fourth round
and led the team with three interceptions and
started eight games during his rookie campaign.
This season, the Texans used their first-round
pick to fill the void at left tackle that has plagued
the Texans since their inception by selecting
Virginia Tech’s Duane Brown. Smith engineered
a trade to move back in the first round,
from 18 to 26, drafting Brown and acquiring
additional picks in the third and sixth rounds in
the process. The Texans used the balance of
the draft to select three players on offense and
four players on defense to strengthen Houston’s
future.
Smith significantly improved the Texans depth
and play making ability during this offseason.
Houston signed unrestricted free agent CB
Jacques Reeves, who started 15 games for the
Dallas Cowboys in 2007. Houston inked linebackers
Kevin Bentley and Chaun Thompson to
improve team speed on defense. The Texans
acquired versatile C Chris Myers from Denver
for a sixth-round draft choice. Myers started
all 16 games for the Broncos last season. He
started the first five contests at left guard before
sliding inside to center for the last 11 games.
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