I think people had hope that when BOB was fired there would be a fresh start and Easterby would be sidelined or eventually removed. Unfortunately that didn't occur and now people have no hope that things will ever get better.
I keep recalling how "fresh" it was when the Texans came into existence to supersede the Oilers who were by all measures, a total PR and business disaster. Yes, the Texans were a blah franchise... but they also didn't succumb to turmoil, were highly profitable, immediately became the most popular brand/sports team in Houston, and were respected amongst community leaders. Keeping all that stuff in check is apparently harder than it looks. If the only thing you can complain about a franchise is the wins/losses... that's actually not too hard to rectify, provided you hire the right GM/Coach. Its all the other stuff that requires years of cultivating and corporate structuring to keep in line. In just 3 months that's all gone to ****. They're not just a PR dumpster fire... they're toxic. It will trickle down to the bottom line which will ultimately cause the business side to also suffer. Of course sometimes that's the only factor that can actually cause real change (if the bottom line is good, nobody cares as much about wins/losses).
So essentially Cal and Easterby made Rootes take the fall for Palcic's firing. Had him jump into the spotlight while those cowards sat back. Great times Texans, great times.
That's not really true though. They are getting rid of basically everyone. This is a MASSIVE overhaul of an organization. Easterby and Cal obviously are constants, but it isn't like they fired one guy or replaced one person.
I don't know if this true and neither do you. The initial "rumor" on her firing was that it was Rootes who got rid of her for supporting Biden.
Commissioner: "Hi Cal, hope you're doing well. I'm going to merge Elon on the call. He has an interesting proposal that I think you should here." Elon: "Hi Cal, I'm going to pay you a premium for your franchise and rename them the Houston Force. I've also arranged with the XFL for you to have the Houston Roughriders, because your fellow NFL owners believe that's more your speed. Don't cry, you're getting more value than you deserve and a chance to build that culture you're looking for with a team in Houston--just not THE TEAM. May the Force forget you!"
In the last month we've had people on here say they've been toxic and racist all along with a horrible culture that didn't know how to talk to players AND that the only thing you could complain about is wins and losses. I just don't even know. For the record, I'm not defending them I've just become a Texan nihilist.
Who said they were qualified? I already said it will probably fail spectacularly. But, the old way didn't produce anything but a solid franchise that had blips of "what if" level of contention. I get the feeling people would rather have run on that treadmill forever? If Cal McNair had hired Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn! instead of Caserio would he suddenly have been "qualified?"
Wins can mask a lot of organizational dysfunction... I'm sure the old Radiers teams led by Al Davis had a ton of business issues, but they won a lot so it really wan't scrutinized as much. Hell, the Oilers did their fair share of winning... and people tolerated the ass-hat that was Bud Adams during that time. As soon as teams with organizational dysfunction stop winning, it all comes crashing down hard. Will be more magnified in today's social media landscape.
I have big concerns about Easterby because of what I've read about how he interacts with people in the building. I do not however put all the sins of Obrien on his shoulders. Obrien was here for a long time. Obrien was the one creating a toxic atmosphere. Obrien was the one running people out of the building. Obrien was the one who couldn't get along with anyone. Easterby came along at the last second and was part of a really disastrous trade (to what extent we'll never know) and I'll never forgive him for that. I don't like that he's a corny youth pastor involved in running a football operation. This is a pretty "fresh" start. Fresh in that it's a pretty radical makeover, but not fresh in that it doesn't smell good right away.
The old way also didn't have superstars demanding trades, having every media outlet go out of their way to point out dysfunction, having national magazines feature scathing expose's on the preacher that somehow became an exec... and creating an overall landscape that has every potential coach, free agent, or draft pick questioning what the **** is going on here. Cal hiring a competent GM... and following through on his statement that Easterby would not be involved... would have gone a long way towards keeping the rest of this **** at bay. But it didn't happen. He let Easterby convince him to go another way.... and that's basically what has set off the rest of this **** show.
For me a fresh start would have been to listen to the search firm's recommendation and hire that person. It didn't sit well with me that Cal called an audible at the last minute and hired Casserio. To me that shows Cal has impulse control issues, and I don't trust his decision making process going forward.
Yep, I could give 2 sh!ts about the business side of the Texans, but this is merely another in a long list of data points
This isn't true - I mean they literally took a player that Easterby liked and interviewed him for the Head Coach position. They are try to keep and promote the people that Easterby likes. The problem - and why it seems they are getting rid of basically everyone - is that it appears almost everyone hates Easterby.
Cool so we should have hired the person that was recommended by the firm that has a terrible rep for recommending people. That would have given you hope.
I think there is an important distinction between the organization/franchise and the team on the field. Though the team has been mediocre for most of its existence, the organization has been pretty good and successful. It has been profitable and marketed very well. Now we are seeing changes that could affect the organization and its business.
This is so weird. You seem to repeatedly say you think the Texans' current path is a disaster but then seem to challenge people who think the Texans should have taken a different approach - because it also might have been a disaster?
