The owners voted to eliminate these clauses last summer. Should note that the Texans could have challenged the clause back in 2019 and likely would have won but for the Pats filing tampering charges because Easterby was a complete idiot.
That’s pretty disingenuous. It’s been O’Brien’s system and him calling the shots since Deshaun has been here. They’re trying to make it seem like it’s been unstable for him rather than just a terrible situation. Stop making excuses for him. OB is a terrible coach and GM that has done Deshaun no favors, but Deshaun has his own flaws that he needs to fix-quickly.
Deshaun Watson is barely 25 and only in his fourth pro season, so he’s quick to say he’s still young and still learning. But the quarterback has already experienced a career’s worth of drama and change with the Texans. His time in Houston has featured multiple general managers, the departure of his favorite receiver via a controversial trade and the early-season firing of his head coach. With the Texans sitting at 0-4 and their playoff hopes practically dead, Watson doesn’t need to experience more to recognize the lesson in that upheaval. “If you have a lot of change and a lot of people that are not on the same page, regardless of how good your team is, or how good your organization is supposed to be, it’s not going to be where it needs to be,” Watson said Wednesday, in his first public comments since Bill O’Brien’s ouster. “There’s gonna be a lot of inconsistency. That’s the thing that we’re going through right now, and sometimes it takes a little time, but you got to have that solid foundation before you can pile on things that you want to pile on. “That foundation of whatever you believe in, and whatever you stand on, has to be solid.” What will the Texans’ identity be under their next head coach and general manager? It’s hard to say. Though Houston fired O’Brien early, team chairman and CEO Cal McNair said the Texans will wait until after the season to hire a general manager, and that person, along with EVP of football operations Jack Easterby, will work with McNair to identify the right coach. No matter who gets those jobs, their focus must be putting Watson in a situation that maximizes his elite skill set. In a league that is scoring more points than ever, building a top-notch offense with a great quarterback as its engine is the most reliable way to construct a consistent contender. Not only do analytics suggest this, the Texans’ best player ever on the other side of the ball does, too. “He’s the face of this franchise; he’s the future of this team in this city,” J.J. Watt said of Watson. “So we have to do whatever we possibly can to make sure that he’s in the best position to have success and to lead this place to success, not only this year, not only next year, but for the next 10 years. And so, whatever it takes to give him all the tools he needs to be successful, in order to flourish and build into the best possible version of himself he can be, that’s what we need to do.” Watt declined to comment on the heated exchange that a source confirmed took place between him and O’Brien during a Week 3 practice. He said he appreciated the success the Texans enjoyed under the ex-head coach and general manager, who Watt thinks “always did what he believed was best for this football team.” “But obviously, this year, we’re 0-4 and stuff wasn’t working,” Watt said. “When you have the talent that we have, specifically at the quarterback position, you can’t be 0-4.” With an assortment of new weapons around him and a new play-caller in offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, Watson hasn’t looked as sharp as he did a season ago. Though his net yards per drop back this season (7.06) is his best since his electric rookie year, his percentage of bad throws (18.9) is higher than each of the previous two seasons. Watson is also running less than ever before (17 carries for 58 yards), helping him produce a career-worst 57.3 QBR, which ranks 21st. O’Brien’s vision for Houston’s overhauled offense — Watson tossing bombs downfield with a speedy receiving corps, then letting pass-catching running backs eat defenses up underneath — has flopped so badly that he lost his job. But as interim head coach Romeo Crennel said, “you’re not going to come in and put in a new offense or a new defense just overnight because it takes time if you’re going to do that. We’re going to have to work with what we have.” So these final 12 games — whether they end in a playoff berth or the Texans’ top 10 pick going to Miami — must help Watson and Easterby figure out which pieces of the offense should stick. Will Fuller and Kenny Stills are both free agents after this season, and Brandin Cooks and David Johnson both have contracts that make them either cuttable players or renegotiation candidates. And from a schematic standpoint, Watson might now have more freedom than ever to shape the offense while working alongside Kelly, who had been under O’Brien since their days at Penn State and could use the remainder of the season as an informal audition for other jobs. “Now, Tim Kelly has the open book for him to just do what he wants to do and how he wants to control this offense with me,” Watson said. “We’re gonna do it together.” Watson believes the offense still has explosive potential, but like the rest of the Texans, it has failed to find consistency. The passing attack enjoyed a big first half against the Steelers in Week 3, then the Texans didn’t score in the final two quarters. Houston’s defense held Minnesota’s rushing attack to a respectable yards per carry average for much of the Texans’ Week 4 game, but it failed to make tackles in high-leverage situations. Crennel said he’ll try to fix this by harping on fundamentals and reminding players not to overextend themselves in hopes of making a play. He senses the 0-4 start has worn down some on a roster that entered this season with playoff expectations, but he said players must “bring their own energy.” “They have to be excited about playing, excited about the game, excited about the game plan,” said the 73-year-old Crennel, the oldest head coach in NFL history. “If those things are in place, then they can be excited about playing and they can look forward to the game and what they’re able to do in the game.” On Wednesday, following a practice in which he thought his teammates displayed good energy and communicated well, Watt was noticeably more enthusiastic than he had been in some of his other recent news conferences. He said he was excited about “getting on the same page with our fan base again.” “There’s certainly been a bit of a tension there in the last months and years,” Watt said. “I can’t wait to have us all pulling in the same direction.” If all goes as Watt hopes, that direction will lead the Texans bringing the best out of their young quarterback. https://theathletic.com/
Eric B is getting the hype recently with the chiefs but don’t let it go unnoticed he’s been with the chiefs since 2013. Just a little nugget I found interesting.
Houston Texans CEO Cal McNair has hired Jed Hughes, the vice chairman for the search firm Korn Ferry, to help the franchise hire its next general manager and head coach, league sources told ESPN. Sources around the league believe the Texans want to be comfortable with who their GM will be first before hiring a head coach. Sources said Hughes already has been doing his due diligence in trying to identify candidates for the Texans to pursue. Hughes was instrumental in the Texans' 2014 search to identify and hire Penn State's Bill O'Brien as their coach and GM. The Texans fired O'Brien on Monday following an 0-4 start. Hughes usually assists one team during the hiring cycle. McNair said on Wednesday that he plans to wait until after the season to hire a coach and GM. Romeo Crennel will serve as Houston's interim head coach, while executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby will handle GM duties for the rest of the season. O'Brien went 52-48 and won four AFC South division titles in six-plus seasons with the Texans. He publicly thanked the McNair family Monday and said he is "sorry that we couldn't get this team over the hump." O'Brien, 50, is the only coach in Texans history with a winning record. He did that while starting 10 different quarterbacks since he took over in 2014, which is tied for second most in the NFL during that time.
Hughes was instrumental in the Texans' 2014 search to identify and hire Penn State's Bill O'Brien as their coach This is so ****ing Texans.
For the record, Korn Ferry is one of the most reputable and renowned search firms out there. If he was vice chairman, I have some faifth. When we landed BOB, it was viewed as a very notable get. Let's see what happens.
Doesn't matter how it was viewed, it was a move that screwed us for years. I dont want anything else to do with this Hughes clown.
Oh I know he's got credentials and has worked with NFL teams before, but you'll have to excuse me if I'm way less than underwhelmed that the search committee is being led by Cal, Easterby, and the guy who helped pick BoB. eta: this is awesome, he also helped hire Strong and Shaka at UT. On the other hand, he helped hire Carroll and Schneider in Seattle. Those were the notable hires I could find, would love to see a list of his former clients.
