Ugh, only this garbage of a franchise hires some grandpa who doesn't know the 1st thing about football. Thank goodness for Caserio. Hopefully he can find the right coach to turn this shitshow around.
I fully expect Josh McDaniels to be the next HC at some point either this year or next… And if for some reason it’s this year the Texans shouldn’t face no backlash either from local fans and media or national media either. While casuals might say we did him dirty knowing he was a lame duck coach and we didn’t even give him a chance to succeed with the players we have and what have you. Mind you NO TEAM in the NFL even gave this man a chance to even be a coordinator much less HC. The Texans prolly gave this man a chance to live his life long dream and for his family. Rolled out the jet for him and his family gave them the red carpet treatment and what have you. The Texans prolly did more for him in this one year then any team in the NFL has done his whole career. So if Easterby or Caserio have gotten the green light from McDaniels then it’s best the Texans move on from Culley this year if McDaniels is ready.
Why should he be given the boot? What more would one expect with the roster that took the field over the weekend?
That he understands game situations - there have been some head scratching decisions.....like not taking a penalty and getting another 3rd down earlier in the year, or letting the other team score so you can possibly come back. The guy is just not all that bright, clearly - in the end, FOOTBALL IS A GAME - I want someone that is smarter at the helm than the other team has....we are at the butt end, game in and game out with Culley driving. He has to go. DD
I can close my eyes and literally imagine Caserio and Crennel on the headset with Culley with Caserio mentioning advisement for NE to score and Culley going in mental shutdown mode with Caserio being beyond annoyed behind the scenes.. Caserio has to know by now we need to have someone that is more on the not that easily confused skill set so I’m hoping we get McDaniels ..Culley is a good guy. Coached at MTSU where my wife finished her masters a few years ago here in Tennessee but we need more from a NFL HC ASAP IMO
Do you think Davis Mills improvement and progression enhances the chances of this? Caserio and McDaniels working together will definitely be something
Anyone else thinking Pep Hamilton might be given consideration for next head coach of Texans? They can make him OC for a year or 2 and then replace Culley with Hamilton.
Live look at Rudy: https://theathletic.com/3038371/202...gain-despite-scars-of-broncos-colts-debacles/ Dante Scarnecchia, perhaps the most respected offensive line coach in NFL history, was persuaded out of his two-year retirement to rejoin the New England Patriots in 2016, and his presence was a key component to the organization’s fourth Super Bowl victory. He never would have been there if it hadn’t been for one factor. “I would have never gone back into coaching after my first two years of being retired if Josh (McDaniels) wasn’t the coordinator,” Scarnecchia said. “I just feel that strong about the guy.” McDaniels has once again positioned himself as a head-coaching candidate during the upcoming hiring cycle. This time, McDaniels’ work with rookie quarterback Mac Jones should distinguish his resume from the competition. But McDaniels must again distance himself from a pair of blemishes on his record, at least in the eyes of those with organizational hiring power. He failed spectacularly as the Denver Broncos head coach from 2009-10, and he spurned the Indianapolis Colts at the 11th hour in 2018. As Scarnecchia pointed out and other NFL executives echoed in interviews with The Athletic, McDaniels’ credentials — for better and worse — shouldn’t be measured in a vacuum. The context is important on each end of that spectrum, and the totality of his performance should lead to one conclusion. “I think he’s a head coach,” a general manager said. “I think he’s learned from his experience. He’s been humbled. When he got his first job, what was he, 32? If you ask him, he was probably trying to be (Bill) Belichick at the time, trying to be a hard ass, all the things he thought you were supposed to be, instead of just being himself. I think he’s matured. I think he’s a brilliant offensive mind. “He did burn some coaches with the Indy deal. But when you really know the dynamics of why he went back to New England, you can somewhat understand from his viewpoint. I think he’d be an excellent head coach. I think you have to talk to him, and he’ll do a really good job this time through.” The quarterback whisperer McDaniels has proven his ability to run a chameleonic offense since returning to the Patriots in 2012. It was initially evident in 2016 when they had to prepare quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to open the season as the starter during Tom Brady’s suspension, as McDaniels split their reps throughout training camp and Garoppolo was on fire to open the regular season. When Garoppolo injured his shoulder in the second quarter of his second start, McDaniels turned to rookie Jacoby Brissett, who hadn’t taken a single practice rep with the starters by that point. To complicate matters, the Patriots’ third game was on a Thursday, so McDaniels installed an entirely different system to feature Brissett’s running ability without a live practice. The Patriots beat the Texans that week, 27-0. McDaniels replicated that effort on a larger scale in 2020 when the Patriots transitioned from Brady to Cam Newton. And no, the Patriots were not an offensive power that season — due to Newton’s performance and a lack of talent around him — but McDaniels implemented an option-style system to maximize Newton’s chances in an otherwise lost year. “With Cam, there were more designed quarterback runs, powers, RPOs, quarterback draws, no doubt,” Scarnecchia said. “Cam’s presence inside the red zone and in particular the low red zone, as a run threat, is a pretty dynamic guy. They certainly used him a lot in there, so they had to tweak it for him.” Newton’s inefficiencies as a passer were evident, but his 12 rushing touchdowns were his most since 2011. “(McDaniels) knows exactly what his quarterback is, and he tailors the offense to that quarterback,” the general manager said. “He doesn’t ask him to do anything he can’t do. He’s relatable. He knows how to talk to these guys, how to teach these guys. If you put him in front of a room of 53 players, he can talk to them as well. He’s got enough knowledge and presence. I think he’d be an excellent (head) coach.” Everyone polled by The Athletic marveled at the importance of this example. Coaches universally promote their willingness to adapt their systems. Few, like McDaniels, actually follow through. The film doesn’t lie. “If you ask all the coaches, they’d say they’ve adapted to their quarterbacks when in fact I don’t know that they really have,” a general manager said. “I think Josh can really do that. He doesn’t just say it. He actually tailors that offense to that quarterback, and he knows how to call plays for him on top of that.” An executive added, “Every team has these meetings in the offseason and says, ‘These are our players. How are we going to play?’ But when it’s nut-cutting time, and time to call a crucial play or crucial series, most coordinators go back to their roots. They go back to what they’re comfortable with and not really what is best suited for the players and the offense at that time.” The tipping point for McDaniels, really, should be his work with Jones. The Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate decisively beat out Newton for the starting job with a no-doubter performance in training camp and the preseason. Jones has completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,313 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and he’s outshined Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance and Justin Fields, who were all selected ahead of the No. 15 pick. Despite shaky performances in back-to-back losses to the Colts and Bills, Jones’ overall body of work should yield plenty of optimism that the Patriots have a long-term answer at the position. Jones has been prepared, decisive and accurate for a team with lofty playoff expectations. So often, Jones has made it look easy when it should frankly be the opposite. Quality coaching is a non-negotiable piece of that equation. “You can see the offense is functioning. I think they’ve done a great job of bringing this kid along,” Scarnecchia said. “Watch the sideline every time this kid is coming off. What do you see? They don’t look at the iPad. They look at the still pictures, and they go over every play. They go over what he’s going to call on the next series. It’s hard to find Mac Jones sitting on the bench with an iPad flipping through things and no one sitting next to him. You can’t find that. You can’t. Turn on the TV and take a look at a lot of (other quarterbacks), and you see it all the time. “Those young guys need a lot of attention. They need to think they’re getting all the help we can possibly give you, and clearly, that’s what’s happening with this kid and the way Josh is coaching him. It’s the same thing he did with Tom. He went through every play. He still has time to call over an assistant coach and say, ‘we’re thinking about doing this, give me some ideas.’ He’s really great at it, his ability to tweak things in games and go to other things. If things aren’t working, you have to be able to go to something else.” The Jaguars and Raiders have already fired their head coaches, so they can begin interviewing candidates this week, which means McDaniels’ name could surface in the near future. There has been an annual average of 6.9 coaching vacancies over the past 10 years, so more openings are likely coming in January. The Seahawks, Bears, Vikings and Broncos are among the list of teams with coaches on shaky ground. As it relates to McDaniels’ work with Jones, the Jaguars (Lawrence) and Bears (Fields) should strongly consider the offensive-minded coach to lead their most recent draft investment. The Seahawks may have no choice but to hire an offensively driven coach to appease Russell Wilson. The Raiders (Derek Carr) and Vikings (Kirk Cousins) have well-paid quarterbacks whose stock has fluctuated this season. The Broncos, for obvious reasons, won’t be calling McDaniels. Conversely, McDaniels must also be drawn to the organization. For example, the Jaguars have the most hyped quarterback prospect in a decade, but they haven’t proven that they’re capable of consistently contending for a Super Bowl under owner Shad Khan. The Bears and Seahawks might be more attractive destinations. But just because McDaniels has a strong resume, it doesn’t mean he’s the only qualified candidate. Teams will also be skeptical of his past.
Lessons learned along the way McDaniels was one of the hottest coaching candidates in the NFL when the Broncos hired him as a 32-year-old in 2009. He joined the Patriots as a personnel assistant in 2001, and the offense made a seamless transition when he took over for Charlie Weis in 2005. The Broncos opened McDaniels’ tenure with six consecutive wins, including an overtime victory against the Patriots, and the hire looked like a slam dunk. Then it went off the rails. They finished 8-8 and became the second team since 1990 to miss the playoffs after starting 6-0. After McDaniels was forced to trade quarterback Jay Cutler in 2009, another feud with wide receiver Brandon Marshall led to his trade in 2010. McDaniels also used a first-round pick on quarterback Tim Tebow in 2010. The Broncos were 3-9 in his second season, which included a videotaping scandal, and McDaniels was fired. He was criticized for having a brash personality while trying to replicate Belichick’s style, and he fell flat. McDaniels has since noted numerous times that he learned from that experience; that he grew as a coach, leader and person; that he became more aware of the ways a head coach must operate. “I can’t imagine a more qualified or more deserving assistant coach in this league than Josh,” Scarnecchia said. “The guy’s record speaks for itself, pre-Denver and post-Denver. And you have to take into consideration Denver as well. He is a pleasure to be around, a pleasure to work with, very respectful. He commands the room, but he does it in such a way where there’s no ego. You just get stuff done, and it’s easy and painless. When you watch him in front of the offense, he just commands the room. He can answer any question. He’s to the point. He’s deliberate. He is respectful of the players. The players respect him tremendously. I just think the guy is really, really good.” An executive added, “Josh was super young when he got his head-coaching job. I always think you’re more prepared for the big job the second time around because you learn from all the mistakes. His overall maturity (has improved) in football and in life. When you get thrown into one of those jobs at a young age, you get a lot of stuff coming at you. They threw personnel powers on top of him. That’s a lot to handle. I think he’d take all of those things into account. He’d be way better equipped right now to be successful.” McDaniels, now 45, is 11 years removed from the Denver debacle. It should be accordingly viewed as a small part of his portfolio. But he made another decision nearly four years ago that damaged his reputation as a coaching candidate. The Colts announced the hiring of McDaniels, but he backed out of the job on the same day. He angered the three assistant coaches who joined the Colts staff on McDaniels’ accord. His agent, Bob LaMonte, quit working for him. McDaniels stayed with the Patriots for two key reasons. First, owner Robert Kraft made him the highest-paid assistant coach in the NFL with a salary worth about $4 million per year. Second, McDaniels’ family had developed strong roots in New England. Perhaps somewhere else on the list, McDaniels could be well-positioned to take over for Belichick, though that’s still more speculation than anything else. McDaniels deserved the heat that he took for backing out in Indy. But this far removed, is it unfair to continue holding it over him? “I think that’s coming from some owners who have an opinion of him, maybe some coaches who got burned by him,” a general manager said. “It’s probably somewhat deserved, but it’s been built up a lot more than probably what it should be.” At least five teams have requested to interview McDaniels over the past three hiring cycles. He was on the shortlist with the Eagles last year, according to sources. So a good portion of the league has moved on from the Colts situation. “I don’t think it’s a big thing anymore,” an executive said. “It’s never going to be a non-issue for a team that is interviewing him. You’ve got to get that cleared up before you even bring him in for an interview. Of course, the answer is going to be, ‘If the situation is right and he gets the offer, he’s going to take it.’ That’s what agents do. I would not hold that against him if I were an owner, GM or president. I think that’s water under the bridge. It happened. It was kind of a messed-up situation at the time, but it’s over.” There’s one more stigma McDaniels must shake. Seven assistants have left Belichick’s Patriots to take over as a head coach in the NFL, and they’ve got a combined record of 154-249-1 (.382 winning percentage). Six, including McDaniels, have losing records. They’ve got a 2-5 mark in the playoffs, with five never reaching the postseason. McDaniels fell into that trap the first time with the Broncos, but should he be accountable for the sins of others? Or his own shortcomings from more than a decade ago? Or even his decision to burn the Colts? It’s all part of it, of course. So, too, is McDaniels’ ability to aid Jones’ sterling rookie season. There’s context behind it all. McDaniels’ reputation around the NFL has clearly been on the upswing, but it’ll be up to those in charge of the hiring processes to determine whether he’s the right head coach for their job. “I think he’s been around it enough,” a general manager said. “He knows who he is as a coach. He’s not going to try to be Belichick this time. He’s smart enough. He’s secure enough in who he is as a coach that I think he’s the one guy who could break away (from Belichick and succeed). And he’s done a really good job of developing quarterbacks, which is the whole key behind this.”
