Houston Texans welcome HABJ for evening of networking

Houston Texans welcome HABJ for evening of networking

[Due to severe weather conditions in Houston area, the meeting has been rescheduled.  Date TBA]

The Houston Texans welcome the Houston Association of Black Journalists (HABJ) to NRG Stadium on Monday, June 15 from 6-7:30 p.m.

Please join us for this exciting evening. Journalists and students interested in careers in sports media should find the gathering particularly interesting.

Rick Smith, Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager, and Kevin Cooper, Senior Director of Communications, will discuss front office challenges in the new media age and participate in a Q&A with HABJ members during the meeting.

Smith joined the Texans in 2006 when he was then the youngest general manager in the NFL. He has helped it to its most successful seasons, including back-to-back playoff years (2011 and ’12), and he has twice overseen the franchise’s rebound from 2-14 campaigns. Smith has been on the prestigious NFL Competition Committee since 2008. Smith, who attended high school in Dayton, Ohio, was a starter and captain at Purdue, where he graduated in 1991. He coached at his alma mater and for the Denver Broncos before moving into the front office to take over as the pro personnel director, where he quickly impressed.

Cooper, a Jack Yates High School and Syracuse University graduate, has been with the Texans for 11 years, and has been in charge of the communications department since 2011. Cooper’s award-winning group is the liaison between media, both national and local, and the Texans’ players, coaches and front office, including team owner Bob McNair. Under Cooper’s leadership, the Texans were awarded the Pete Rozelle Award, which is given to the NFL’s most outstanding public relations staff, by the Pro Football Writers Association in 2012. It marked the third time the Texans were honored with the award.



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