Here comes the spin... So the Texans supposedly had their pick of all the candidates they interviewed yet decided on Lovie Smith whom they interviewed at the very last minute.
well if you believe rappaport reporting the Texans didn’t end up loving any of the candidates they interviewed. I also believe after listening to Lovie and Caserio interviews that they really like each other.
I believe the Texans are feeding Rappaport their spin on things. They conducted a month long search and interviewed 6 candidates with a few of them getting 2nd interviews (3rd if you count going back to last season). But yet they decide on the DC they have been working with for a year and who never got an interview until they figured out they didn't like any of the other candidates? And even if all of this is true, Caserio is doing a pretty horrid job identifying candidates.
I think there may be truth to Salisbury's theory that they were holding out for McDaniels. It kind of makes sense with why they dragged out the process and weren't interviewing a ton of guys. But also, they already interviewed some of these guys last year. Like Bieniemy. They knew they didn't want to hire him, why interview him again? A plausible scenario is this: - They knew they needed to move on from Culley because he couldn't perform HC duties. He was a total disaster. They kicked it around for a days asking themselves whether it was worth it from a PR standpoint because they didn't know who they'd hire. - Josh McDaniels puts it out there that he won't interview until after the playoffs. Texans take this as signal he is willing to leave - They interview guys they are interested in as young coaches, but none impress them. - McDaniels stuns them by jumping at LV right away when he becomes available. That's a gut punch. - They keep the process going but they don't love any one. - They kick around idea of Flores because of personal relationship, but really sour on idea of his personality fit as a HC. - Easterby pushes McCown as an option and they all really like him but can't pull trigger due to no experience. - Caserio keeps coming back to idea that he really likes Lovie Smith and decides why not just hire him? He's not a long term solution, but maybe he can right the ship and do a good job while the other young coaches around the league that Caserio likes get more seasoning. Guys like Gannon, Pep Hamilton and yes, even Josh McCown. That seems plausible to me.
Coming from the "fire bill obrien" guy, where things stand right now, I would have rather just held onto him until we knew we had our next guy for sure. Lovie might ultimately be an upgrade, but on paper right now he isn't. The last 16 months have been confidence shaking to say the least.
Assuming there is a lot of back channeling going on, I would guess McDaniels gave them a flat no behind the scenes. Otherwise they would have at least requested an interview which they didn't from what we know. Honestly I'm not mad at the end product mainly because it's not McCown. But I have a hard time believing that after the most "thorough, inclusive and in-depth process" per Cal, Caserio all of a sudden came to the realization that the DC he has been working with the past year was all of a sudden the best candidate at the very last minute.
No way. Obrien was burning the organization to the ground all around him man. You needed to cut that cancer out. Culley was a terrible HC, but I think the organization was better off for 1 year with him than another year of Obrien. It takes some time to heal, it's just that simple. I don't know if they are on the right path right now, but I do believe it's a better path than sticking with Obrien.
Just to stress, more of a "best candidate because we don't like ANY candidates" not a "man we love this candidate!" situation.
My statement assumes that Caserio would have supplanted him as GM, thereby stemming the bleeding from a roster management standpoint. Otherwise, yes.
I just don't think it was roster management only at the end that was a problem. Situation had become so toxic. Obrien hired horrible assistants and was a total control freak. Speaking of that, important to point out for people who think Caserio hired a puppet in Lovie and he's really running everything, etc. The coaching staff that's being hired is basically all Lovie Smith and Pep Hamilton connections.
Of course it wasn't the only problem. His day-to-day coaching sucked mudbutt, but his mismanagement of the roster was by far the biggest problem in a sea of them. Horrible assistants and a bad attitude are a big whatever. They all leave when he gets canned. Shipping off players and picks for peanuts is a more permanent and lethal injury IMO. Like I said, I'm the fire BOB guy, I give him no charity or quarter. If I'm the one saying I would have preferred to stick with BOB (the coach) over the last 16 months then you have seriously ****ed up. Hell, I only have a coin flip's faith that Lovie will prove to be better than BOB, too. Life is pain.
Its still spin. Whatever their process is, it did not identify Lovie Smith as a candidate... till they ran out of options. Ultimately, he may be the best person for the job right now, but still doesn't absolve questions that their coach evaluation/hiring process may be flawed and there's not really much they can do to fix it at this point. You just hope that there aren't similar flaws in how they evaluate draft prospects... or how they try to entice free agents.... or how Casserio handles potential trades with other GM's.
That's fair. But that kinda goes back to Caserio not picking very good candidates. I mean they are coming off of Culley who was complete crap but go onto interview viewed Hines Ward and Josh McCown for the 3rd time in a year. If they couldn't pull the trigger on Gannon because of age or McCown because of experience, that is the type of stuff that should be vetted out beforehand, not during the 2nd interview while other candidates are being taken off the board. Also begs the questions on what the Culley hire was..."the best candidate because they didn't like any candidates" or "a love this candidate."
I agree with you here. I have some concern about their ability to identify candidates. That's where maybe the McDaniels thing Salisbury throws out there intrigues me. But it's also possible there aren't any good candidates right now? Most coaching hires suck to be fair and get fired quickly. I would have interviewed Leftwhich and Pederson, but what do I know about these guys?
This question remains... Does Lovie Smith allow Nicky C to speak in his headset during games? A condition of their offer?
