Saved by the Bell: Fire Alarm Disrupts Texans’ Press Conference as GM Gets Asked About Brian Flores Lawsuit
The Houston Texans held a press conference to introduce Lovie Smith as their new head coach Tuesday afternoon and they were undoubtedly expecting difficult questions about recently alleged racism within the league.
But general manager Nick Caserio was saved by, or at least aided by the bell as a fire alarm curiously sounded after ESPN’s Ed Werder asked about Brian Flores’s lawsuit against the NFL and the impact it had on the Texans’ coaching search.
The #Texans press conference for coach Lovie Smith was interrupted by a fire alarm earlier [@MrMatthewCFB]pic.twitter.com/WIdjDGW3qx
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 8, 2022
As Caserio began to address the question, a blaring alarm sounded in conjunction with an alert requesting everyone to avoid elevators as they proceed to the stairwell to exit the building.
“We got a fire?” Caserio said with a laugh as he looked around awkwardly. “Don’t use the elevators.”
To his credit, Caserio powered through and stated the lawsuit by Flores did not impact the team’s coaching search. But the answer and the ensuing questions were surely impacted by the alarm.
Before hiring Smith, the Texans were reportedly zeroing in on former quarterback Josh McCown to be their next head coach. But McCown, who is White and has absolutely no coaching experience at the NFL level, would have undoubtedly been used as fuel for Flores’s lawsuit against the NFL, if handed a head coaching position.
Flores, who was fired by the Miami Dolphins last month, hit the NFL with a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination within the league’s hiring process and put a spotlight on the lack of Black head coaches in pro football. By getting the Texans’ job, Smith became just the second Black head coach in the NFL, joining the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin.
