Completely agree with this comment. He seems stubborn to admit he's wrong. Like extending Kubiak when almost everyone else thought he should be let go and still going with Rick Smith despite years of poor drafting.
It is true. McNair doesn't really care. Naturally he'll deny it, and maybe he believes he cares. But he doesn't seem to know much about football; and he doesn't have that raging fire to win, win, win. I'm all for loyalty, but there's a time when you have to set it aside and admit your employees might not be the best. Rick Smith is as mediocre as you get; I honestly think JJ Watt must have been a lucky pick for the Texans, because they almost always botch the draft. Free agency? If you wanted to win a championship, you wouldn't sign here. Take Gary Kubiak (please). I know a few people who swear up-and-down, left-and-right on how good of a head coach he is. Dude always looked at his clipboard as if he weren't smart enough to realize he was holding it upside down. Or maybe the plays were written in a language he'd never studied. Nice guy, but there's the problem: only when McNair's hand was absolutely forced did he look for a new coach ("I thought Gary was gonna be here forever"). But it doesn't really matter in Houston. Team sucks? So what? Stadium's full. JJ Watt and Arian Foster jerseys all over town. Rockets in the WC Championship? People finally show up. But still a large swath of apathy.
Wanting to win and not knowing how to win are not the same thing and shouldn't be confused. At the end of the day, none of us know Bob McNair; we can only judge him by his actions - and here's what we know: he has spent *lavishly* on this team. And, with the possible exception of Rick Smith (who may be a figurehead, anyway), he has acted decisively with the vast majority of personnel decisions that he directly controls. These two facts are undeniably true. This is such utter bull****. Not only was he fired less - LESS - than one year removed from back-to-back playoff appearances - but he was fired *during* the season; a season, btw, in which he almost literally died on the sidelines. If you want to argue he should have fired Kubiak in '10, that has merit - but McNair *rightly* diagnosed - AND FIXED - the team's glaring weakness (no defensive architect). It led to the franchise's two best seasons. I agree with McNair's guiding philosophy (patience; building long-term solutions; staying out of the way); he's made mistakes - but, the sample size is still relatively small (just two HCs, GMs that we can fairly evaluate).
This writer is only pissed that we didn't pick up Ray Rice, and it's apparent in his writing. Also, why would you listen to a writer who first writes[rquoter]"BOB MCNAIR IS THE WORST OWNER"[/rquoter] and then [rquoter]"[Bob McNair] is the worse owner" [/rquoter] ? Online media outlets let ANY Joe Schmoe be a writer out there because they're "bloggers" and like to just spew out vitriol... It's baloney.
I agree. p.s. It should be "worst" in any instance, unless you have some comparison like "worse than [other owners]." In yours, too. This writer doesn't know superlative vs. comparative, or he made a mistake and the editor didn't catch it. Here's the correct usage for these two: "Rocket River is a better poster than SwoLy." "Rocket River is the best poster here." "Rocket River is a worse poster than SwoLy." "Rocket River is the worst poster ever." I ignore any opinion from a bad writer.
I respect your opinion but don't agree. Yes, Kubiak was fired within a year of two playoff appearances, but the regression started during our 12-4 season. After our 11-1 start it was mostly downhill (playoff win that year notwithstanding). Having tied our wagon to a middle-of-the-pack coach and a rapidly-fading starting quarterback spelled doom. Yes, Gary Kubiak is having success now in Denver, but why wouldn't he? I wish him well, because he's a likable guy, and he's a local guy. But he tethered himself first to David Carr and then to golf-buddy Schaub (who was okay for awhile then fell off a cliff). McNair, in turn, tethered himself to Kubiak: "Yes, Mr McNair, I can turn chicken ***** into chicken soup, David Carr is OUR GUY!" "OK, Gary, you were smart enough to tell me what I wanted to hear, you're hired!" One year later: "Matt Schaub is a winner. Let's get him!" "OK, Gary, I'm trusting you! See you in church on Sunday?" "Sure thing, Bob!" "Uh....'Mister McNair." I guess we have different sample sizes. My sample size: fourteenth season of the franchise. Two playoff appearances. Sun setting rapidly on this season. Patience? I've run out, even though I can't wait until they're great. Long-term solutions? Make that "long, long, looooooooooooong-term solutions." I can admit to a little hypocrisy in a way, as I'm way more of an NBA fan than NFL fan and wandered in the wilderness with the Rockets for many years until James Harden was acquired. But God knows, I'd waste my Sunday watching them along with everyone else if....they....would just....get it....together!
So you think Kubiak should have been fired after a 13-5 season? Come on. He tried with Carr, quickly figured out it wasn't going to work so he got Schaub and Schaub played well for 6 years until the dropoff in 2013. McNair fired Kubiak in the middle of the season that year.
Supposedly Kubiak didn't want Manning then... and he still doesn't want him now. Overruled by none the first time and Elway the second.
I like how you just casually dismiss a playoff victory as if they grow on trees around here... They were 24-12 those two seasons with two playoff victories, one of which came with a third-string rookie QB drafted in the 5th round starting. And you think he should have been fired after that stretch? Just what, exactly, is your standard?... He inherited David Carr, which, by all accounts, was a prerequisite for being hired. That he managed to dump Carr *and* find a legitimate upgrade one year later... Well, Bill O'Brien should be so lucky... And Matt Schaub was better than "okay" - he was a legitimate top 10 QB (oft times top 5) for 3-4 years. I can't (and never have) defended his '12 meltdown and subsequent 2013 season... but I think it's absurd everyone pretends it's somehow representative of his tenure in Houston. You can be disappointed with how it ended (you SHOULD be disappointed) - but it shouldn't recast his entire stay in Houston. Oh, did he hire coaches I wasn't aware of?... Again, wanting to win is not the same as not winning. It's a presumptuously stupid statement. Do you honestly think a billionaire bought an NFL team to... not win?..... He wants to win; they ALL want to win. He's made bad decisions; he's been unlucky, etc., etc. - but I don't see any evidence of him actively not trying to win. This has been pointed out, over and over... Capers got four years - with an expansion team: that's not a terribly long leash. And after wins-improvement in each of his first three years, he was fired the first time the team regressed. Kubiak got a longer rope but he also instantly improved a bad team and, just two years removed from a 2-14 bottoming out, went three straight years without posting a losing record. 2010 was really, and truly, his first hiccup - and I think he came dangerously close to being fired. But, again, McNair diagnosed the problem, fixed it, and they team promptly had its two best seasons. There's ample reason to not be happy with the franchise overall, but this idea McNair doesn't want to win... I mean, show me the evidence.
"....and occasionally I curse to get my point across....." 5 points if you get that without googling it.
This thread is the Donald Trump of the Texans Forum. It's embarrassing and it makes everyone it's associated with and anyone in close proximity to it look terrible. No doubt it'll be popular somehow.
