Former Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith almost returned to an NFL front office.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Washington came close to hiring the former Texans front office boss with owner Dan Snyder and Smith having frequent meetings in the Bahamas.
Before they hired Ron Rivera as their new head coach this past week, the Washington Redskins came close to hiring former Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith as their president to run the team, league sources told ESPN.
Smith and Redskins owner Daniel Snyder had multiple meetings in the Bahamas, formulating a vision for the struggling franchise, according to sources.
Sources familiar with the situation expected a deal to get done and Smith to be in charge of the Redskins.
But Snyder ultimately opted to run his franchise through his head coach instead of a president, bestowing the power to Rivera, who was officially hired Wednesday.
What Smith’s frequent meetings with Snyder indicate is that the former Texans general manager is ready to get back into the front office of an NFL team.
The second general manager in Texans history has not been involved in football since his wife, Tiffany, died of cancer in late January of 2019.
Smith’s successor, Brian Gaine, was fired on June 7. Since then, executive vice president of football administration Chris Olsen has been the interim general manager, but the Texans actually have a five-man general managing council with coach Bill O’Brien making significant decisions regarding personnel.
The Cleveland Browns currently have a vacancy at general manager after firing John Dorsey. Interestingly, the Browns were the team Smith made a trade with to move up to take quarterback Deshaun Watson in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft. Smith may not have overseen greatness while with Houston, but he may have made one of the draft day trades that does give the Texans a shot at greatness.
