Bears Fan Lurking – Just read an incredible Athletic Article on Rick Smith and have a few questions
here is the link to the article (subscription only)
First off, prayers to Rick Smith and his family, I cant imagine the pain him and his family went through over the yearlong process that involved his wife being diagnosed with breast cancer and her eventual passing away. I cant imagine the sense of loss they must be feeling.
From a football standpoint, my eyebrows raised at a few things that I have some questions on with regard to Smith / O'Brien relationship. I know BOB isn't popular around here and im curious as to ownership empowering him to such a large degree if Smith was the driving force behind the DW4 pick.
-I remember after the 2017 season when the Texans went 4-12 there was a power struggle between OB and Smith, and it was unclear who would win. Smith took a year long leave to care for his wife, and the rest is history as OB has essentially been the GM since.
-6 months after he took leave, Bob McNair told Smith there would be no room for him in the organization and they would revisit the situation at years end. Was OB trying to push Smith out during these 6 months while he was going through personal tragedy?
-At the end of 12 months, the Texans fired Smith and he made his displeasure clear to Cal McNair. Curious as to who was the driving cause of this particularly given what he was going through in his personal life.
-At his wife's funeral, there is a list of people that attended including prominent Texans players and Cal McNair himself. BOB is absent from people listed.
-2017 draft, nobody wanted to trade up for DW4 but Smith made the decision to go after him. He had Trubisky third unlike my incompetent GM, and BOB is reaping the benefits long after Smith has been gone with a franchise qb.
All in all, if you have a subscription I highly recommend reading the article. My main takeaway as a neutral is I come across with a more positive view of Smith as an individual and talent evaluator, neutral on Cal McNair (if its true he was supportive of Smith throughout and tried to get him the Washington GM job), and less favorable view of BOB.
The question of who was pushing him out while he was going through great personal tragedy, despite drafting the Texans a franchise QB for years to come the year prior, is what truly bothered me and made me decide to come here and make a post as a neutral.
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