For the first time since the news broke yesterday afternoon, Rick Smith met with the media to talk about his intent to take an extended leave of absence from the Texans.
“This is not a period, it’s a comma,” Smith said about his tenure with the organization.
Smith said that his wife Tiffany was diagnosed with breast cancer in late September and that he had gone back and forth to Arizona to take care of her as she was undergoing treatment.
Smith confirmed he will take the full 2018 year off and that his return after that is “fluid.” He stated that he’d keep his title of Executive Vice-President, but that it was up to Bob McNair as to whether a new general manager would be hired in Smith’s absence.
Watch the full press conference here via the Texans’ official website.