NFL fans are convinced Lovie Smith gave Bears the No. 1 pick on purpose
Bears fans were ready to put Texans head coach Lovie Smith in the Hall of Fame for gifting the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to his former team.
Lovie Smith isn’t the head coach of the Bears anymore, but maybe some latent loyalty to Chicago still sits in his heart.
He certainly did his part to gift the Bears the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
A loss for the Texans against the Colts would have ensured Houston the top pick, but the team didn’t play like they had any intention to go down in defeat. They took an early 10-0 and fought back when the Colts took a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Davis Mills threw a touchdown on fourth-and-20 with under a minute to go, then Smith called for a two-point conversion to go for the win instead of the tie.
Bears fans were ready to declare Smith, their former head coach from 2004 to 2012, a Chicago legend for that call, which did result in a 32-31 victory for the Texans.
Bears fans celebrate Love Smith handing them the No. 1 NFL Draft pick
Smith was on the hot seat going into the final game of the season at 2-13-1. Despite being in charge for just one season, there was chatter that he could be fired. So his moment of apparent subordination carried an extra spiciness to it. Did he do it as a final “screw you” to the franchise that was about to fire him anyway?
Whether he thought it was a done deal or not, Smith definitely wasn’t taking orders from management when he went for the win against Indianapolis. His decision could change the trajectory of either the Texans or the Bears.
There is a universe where this works out for both sides. The Bears just drafted Justin Fields, so they aren’t expected to pick up a quarterback with the No. 1 pick. If they go with a different position, a QB like Bryce Young would be available to the Texans.
However, if Chicago decides to trade the top pick to a QB-needy team, Houston will look back at that moment and wonder what could have been.
