For Texans head coach Lovie Smith, promoting Pep Hamilton was more than just a strong desire.
It was an imperative goal.
The Texans promoted Hamilton to offensive coordinator from passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach as he replaced offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, who was fired and is now working as a senior offensive assistant for the Tennessee Titans under Mike Vrabel.
The Texans wanted to have continuity for quarterback Davis Mills and they accomplished that by keeping Hamilton on the staff after he interviewed for offensive coordinator jobs with the Chicago Bears and New York Giants and declined interview requests with the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hamilton was intent on remaining with the Texans and now he's back.
"It was a must," Smith said Tuesday of keeping Hamilton. "One of the first things I did right away was say, 'Pep, we need you.' We have a relationship."
Hamilton, 47, was expected to have other options this offseason after doing a good job working with Mills.
Hamilton's work with Mills hasn't gone unnoticed along with his background as the Los Angeles Chargers' former quarterbacks coach.
While Mills went 2-9 in 11 starts as the replacement for veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor, the strong-armed third-round draft pick from Stanford had his moments. He completed 66.8 percent of his throws for a franchise rookie record 2,664 yards to pass former top overall pick David Carr for 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a respectable 88.8 passer rating.
"It's a great opportunity anytime you have the chance to have one of these 32 jobs leading an offense in the National Football League," Hamilton said. "At the end of the day, it's a collection of people. It's not just coach Smith, but it's the guys who were on the prior staff that will continue with us moving forward."
When Mills was a blue-chip recruit in Atlanta passing for 6,290 yards and 66 touchdowns as the top-ranked quarterback in 2017, Hamilton evaluated him along with Stanford coach David Shaw.
“I had the opportunity to evaluate Davis way back when he was in high school,” Hamilton said in the final weeks of the season. “Good friend of mine, David Shaw, we often talked about the kid that was coming out of Georgia, right? Lo and behold, I had a chance to follow his career during his time at Stanford as well. He shows tremendous promise. He’s working hard just like the rest of our guys. We’ll see where the skillset will take him.”
Hamilton, a former quarterback at Howard, collaborated extremely well with strong-armed Chargers Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert. Herbert passed for 4,336 yards, 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a rookie two seasons ago.
A former head coach and general manager of the DC Defenders in the XFL, Hamilton coached retired Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck as their offensive coordinator along with being the Cleveland Browns' associate head coach and quarterbacks coach for the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers' quarterbacks and has worked at Stanford as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and at the University of Michigan as an assistant head coach and passing game coordinator.
Hamilton began his coaching career at Howard as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
Hamilton played quarterback at Howard University before becoming the school's quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
"As I talk about ranks, Pep came in and worked his way up," Smith said. "People always ask about 'how can I move up?', and it's just do a good job where you currently are. That's what Pep did in the quarterback room and later as a coordinator. When you give guys an opportunity, they show you exactly who they are. I'm so excited about what he'll bring to us."
When Mills was a blue-chip recruit in Atlanta passing for 6,290 yards and 66 touchdowns as the top-ranked quarterback in 2017, Hamilton evaluated him along with Stanford coach David Shaw.
“I had the opportunity to evaluate Davis way back when he was in high school,” Hamilton said in the final weeks of the season. “Good friend of mine, David Shaw, we often talked about the kid that was coming out of Georgia, right? Lo and behold, I had a chance to follow his career during his time at Stanford as well. He shows tremendous promise. He’s working hard just like the rest of our guys. We’ll see where the skillset will take him.”
Aaron Wilson is an NFL insider and analyst for Pro Football Network and a contributor to Sports Talk 790. He is on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram; @aaronwilson7128
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