Rick Smith (American football executive)


Rick Smith is an American football executive who was the Executive Vice President of Football Operations of the Houston Texans of the National Football League. From 2006 to 2017, he served as the Texans' General Manager. He became the team's Executive Vice President of Football Operations in 2012.
Smith is not listed in the current Houston Texans Front office roster. Through longtime Texans beat writer John McClain the Houston Chronicle has reported multiple times that Smith will not be returning to the Texans in any capacity.

Biography

Smith played for the Purdue Boilermakers as a strong safety from 1988 to 1991. He graduated from that institution, where he served as a coach. After this stint, he coached for a month at Texas Christian University before going to the NFL.
He became the General Manager of the Houston Texans succeeding Charley Casserly in that role. According to the Texans website, he was responsible for all aspects of football operations, salary cap management and budgeting. He had been with the Denver Broncos organization as a coach then in the front office. In 2016, he was given a contract extension through 2020.
He oversaw all football-related operations and the player acquisition process as the Texans' Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager. Named general manager by owner Bob McNair on June 5, 2006, Smith's appointment made him the youngest general manager in the NFL at 36.
On December 31, 2017, Smith announced that he was taking a leave of absence to be with his wife, who has breast cancer. On January 1, 2018, it was also reported that he would be gone for a year and that the Texans will hire a new general manager to take his place. However, Smith will retain his position as the team's Executive Vice President of Football Operations.
Smith is an executive board member of Pro-Vision Academy, a charter school and non-profit organization in Houston that provides educational services to children.