Rick Smith is not having a good week
Following Ahman Green's interview on 1560 The Game with Sean Pendergast, where he got after Smith regarding his time in Houston, the station brought in former Texan Marcus Coleman to speak on Smith and the Texans as well.
It's important to note two things. 1 - I don't know if Coleman is or ever was an employee of 1560 The Game, but he is a frequent contributor to their programming. 2 - Coleman was not in Houston during Smith's tenure.
That said, Coleman has discussed (and derided) Smith in the past, as he claims to have inside information (an assertion I don't doubt at all as he has friends who are both current and former Houston Texans.)
The money quote from this interview is that, according to what Coleman has heard from those in the know, Rick Smith "doesn't do a whole lot" as Texans GM. Not sure if that deals mostly with player decisions, draft, free agency, or day-to-day, but it's certainly worth noting. Also - very troubling if true, in many ways. First in that, well, what the hell is he doing there if he's not doing much of what a typical GM does? Secondly, If true, then firing him wouldn't necessarily fix the problems he's caused unless they brought in a guy who would be taking on far more decision-making than he is responsible for.
Coleman added that Smith basically acted as a "mole" in the locker room for the front office when he was employed by the Denver Broncos. That would be yet another punch to the gut in Smith's withering reputation in how he handles player relationships. A mole for "the man" in Denver, and now a guy who asks players if they're faking injuries?
When asked if he thought the Texans were a poorly-run organization, Coleman didn't hesitate in saying "yes."
I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle, as it almost always is. Plus you simply have to allow for some room in the discussion for the fact that this is secondhand information, unlike Ahman Green's firsthand account. I have no idea if Coleman has an ax to grind with the organization, or anything like that. Personally, I don't think he does. I think he's been pretty fair in on-air assessments of the team to this point, despite their often-negative nature.
Short of taking pictures of his crotch and sending them to Texans season ticket holders, I'm not sure Smith could have a worse week.