If only we had the easiest schedule in the NFL again to rely on so we could have an inflated record and be first round fodder again in year 6 of this regime. Amusingly, the one year with Brian Gaine will likely be the high water mark for BOB's coaching career with the Texans.
You'll be done with the Texans after they bring back the person who got them JJ Watt, Deandre Hopkins, Jadeveon Clowney and Deshaun Watson??? You were never a fan then.
The Texans have never been a Super Bowl threat... not even once. Bringing back the guy that lead them to mediocrity isn’t a smart move.
Right or Gaine was hand picked by O’Brien and drafted the players O’Brien wanted and pursued the free agents O’Brien wanted... Cal McNair at some point concluded he didn’t like the Texans off season outcome... and O’Brien threw Gaine under the bus and now gets to hire another GM.
We're judging fandom on the guy that never won a thing in 10 yrs and gave us the XSF/Montgomery/Kevin Johnson/Brennan/Trevardo Williams yrs. Give me another sir, I'm a glutton for punishment and if I take my punishment then and only then will I be considered a true fan. I'm a huge fan of competency, which is something RS struggled with.
It wasn't Ricks job to coach the team. He did his part. The problem was and still is, no one else has been able to do their part. He assembled a Superbowl team. In other words, he led the horse to the water.
Over the last 5 years or so my view of the Texans has gone from appointment viewing to complete apathy. The Texans were must watch for a decade. The Dallas game is easily on my sports Mt. Rushmore. But I just can't bring myself to feel anything about them right now, not even anger. I'll still watch their games, I'll still root for them, but at this point I'm going through the motions.
I think you could argue that they had Superbowl talent or close to it in 2011-2012. Functional QB, but best-in-sport type players at WR/RB, and a top 5 defense. Losing Schaub one of those years probably took out their best opportunity. They weren't ever going to be definitively the best team in the league due to QB, but they were reasonably in the top 3-5 or so, I think?
Lack of real playoff success will do that. Just like real playoff success (or just another great regular season) will renew fandom and generate new buzz.... until they come up short. Unlike the other Houston teams, the Texans don't have to be a true world-beater contender to generate buzz or sell out games. They can't be bad though... and fortunately (or unfortunately), they haven't had true dud seasons back-to-back since early in the expansion years.
If this is the case, who cares who the GM is then? Why even bother with a 16 page thread about the firing of a figure-head?
The Astros had a huge slump, the Rockets went over a decade without winning a playoff series...I still always cared about them. Had the Astros continued their course from 07-10, then maybe I would have felt that way about them. I just don't think the Texans are concerned with winning, they just need to win enough to sell contending to the fans. They just shuffle stuff around every f**king offseason. A title not being the primary goal is my cardinal sin as a fan.
Hence why they had to fire a GM after a lackluster off-season, and nobody should really be all upset by this development. They did take a risk to get Watson... and he's thus far developed into a QB talent the franchise has never had before. Plenty said Watt was done, and he came back last year at an elite level. Those tired of Hopkins being a malcontent or "diva" can't really debate his all-pro level performance. Every right to be apathetic towards the organization results as a whole, but its a tad dramatic to say they're just going through the motions and barely scratching the surface for both talent and winning. And as long as there's a combination of talent on the roster, as well as putting together a non-dud season, that generates more buzz than comparable levels in the other sports... whether that's a good or not-so-good thing. Hell, plenty here will relish the opportunity to mention their misfortunes or short-comings with passion... true apathy actually leads to not even taking that much an effort. They're a polarizing franchise at the moment... either diehards who thinks the team does no wrong, or those who will try and point out each and every embarrassing/degrading aspect (even if it takes some effort to do so).
I agree with this, but it’s all he has at this point. Dude was thrown the toughest of curveballs that life could throw.
