The Houston Texans are at a crossroads as an organization. After surprisingly firing Bill O’Brien toward the beginning of the year they were left without a head coach and GM. Romeo Crennel and Jack Easterby have taken over those roles on an interim basis, but the franchise is currently in a bit of a rut and lacking direction. They’re also without a lot of draft picks, including their first-rounder next April, due to trades O’Brien made. As they look to dig themselves out of that mess, owner Cal McNair is apparently leaving no stone unturned.
McNair recently had dinner with quarterback Deshaun Watson, the one thing the team has going for them at the moment, and he picked his brain about what he’d like to see moving forward, McNair told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Schefter writes that “McNair wanted to hear Watson’s thoughts and opinions on who should be the next head coach.” Assuming Watson gets legit input, it would be relatively safe to assume the Texans will target an offensive mind. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy is sure to be a hot name, although there are plenty of other offensive minds as well.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Tua Tagovailoa‘s honeymoon as the Dolphins’ quarterback came to an end Sunday in a loss to the Broncos. Tagovailoa struggled mightily during the defeat, and was pulled for Ryan Fitzpatrick. Speaking after the game, head coach Brian Flores confirmed Tagovailoa did not have an injury and was benched for performance. That being said, Flores also wasted no time declaring that his rookie will be his starter next week, meaning we’ll have to wait again for our first dose of Fitzmagic. Tagovailoa was 11/20 for only 83 yards before getting pulled during the loss, which snapped Miami’s five-game winning streak. He’ll have a get-right spot against the Jets next week.
- Fortunately, we’ve got another positive update to pass along on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Appearing on the radio Friday, team EVP Stephen Jones said he’s been getting “amazing reports” from doctors on Prescott’s status, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “Shouldn’t come as any surprise,” Jones said. “He does everything to the nines and the 10s and he just does it the very best. He’s been so diligent in his rehab and that shouldn’t surprise anybody. They said if anything he’s ahead of schedule and rolling. That should come as no surprise. So we expect him to have a full recovery.” Jones also reiterated that Prescott avoided any infections, which can sometimes occur with compound fractures. Everything continues to look good for Prescott’s chances of being ready for Week 1 of 2021.
- Let’s wrap things up with some punter news. Veteran specialist Jon Ryan has been working out and has drawn interest from teams recently, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. Ryan is 38 now but clearly has no plans of hanging up his cleats. Pelissero notes he led the CFL in gross punting average last season. He most notably spent ten years as the Seahawks’ punter from 2008-17.
Fitz certainly fared better in his limited action than Tua (that pick was the result of desperate circumstances and likely is not a ball that the quarterback would have forced in another situation) purely in terms of moving the ball.
That said, Denver’s defense is actually very good. If Denver’s offense wasn’t so inconsistent (and not so grossly injured), the defensive rankings would likely be better due to less time being spent on the field. Fitz’s experience helped him in what limited production he had, which is not a quality Tua has yet. This game will help develop that considerably, which should be a positive in the future.
The Texans will become even more of a train wreck if they allow Watson to dictate their future course. If they are smart they will limit his organizational input the way the Packers did with Rodgers.
I’m back & forth on that train of thought. The QB is face of your franchise and when you pay him top 5 for positional salary, he should have a voice w/in the organization. With that said; they (QB’s) have- at best- limited experience in front office.
I can understand listening to a QB on what they value in coaching, just not a GM role.
As for Rodgers, well it appears he was right. Mike M is not a very good HC.
Cal McNair had the tremendous business acumen to…sit around and wait for his dad to die.
He should turn the Texans around in no time with that kind of savvy.
That’s probably why Stephen Jones calls him and takes notes.
I liked Herbert more than Tua coming out of college. So far, although it is wayyyy early, it appears that I may have gotten one right? After all, I also thought that Chase Claypool would be a dud for the Steelers. Mel Kiper, I ain’t. 🙂
I loved Claypool for the Raiders, hoping he could grow into the TE position. Unfortunately, I had him pegged as late 2nd, early 3rd, and none of that was in our draft kit.
Of course, I also wanted them to trade down from the 1st, figuring 2nd round WRs weren’t much worse than 2nd round receivers, but that’ll be a discussion when I meet Mr, Gruden.
That’s the problem I had with Tua in the first place. He has talent, but no experience. So why switch horses while you’re winning?
Sheer upside play. Everyone knows what Fitz can do and has done, and that’s never leading a team to any playoff success. Tua was picked to be their future QB, and the future is now for the Dolphins.
They’re a good en ou ugh team to overcome some mistakes. Allow him to learn, take some bumps, and allow him to gain that valuable experience. Then, just see what he can do this year, when the Dolphins contention window is just opening. They’re likely not winning the SB anyways, and certainly wouldnt with Fitz. Might as well give Tua a shot and who knows what could happen, especially with him having the much higher ceiling…
Yup, I don’t know if it was the right move, but I don’t mind giving them the benefit of the doubt based on all their other moves. A few more losses by the Texans, and the Tunsil trade is going to look awesome.
Jones said. “He does everything to the nines and the 10s and he just does it the very best. He’s been so diligent in his rehab and that shouldn’t surprise anybody.
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I’m not a doctor, but I have a fracture before. How much rehab could someone do 6-7 weeks after a fracture and dislocation? It was six weeks before I could take my brace off, and that was just a collarbone.