Bill O'Brien is supposed to be an Xs and Os guy AND a strong personality. In general I agree with you though. I'm not interested in chasing whatever offensive coordinator looks good right now though because he has a young QB who is really good.
As far as I am concerned, you are officially in charge of the selection. (unfortunately, I have never met Uncle Bob, and can't speak for him.) What you describe is EXACTLY what should happen.
Well O'Brien learned from the master of Xs and Os so that's got to count for something. Belichek is also a master motivator, same goes for Pete Carroll (Bevell). Bevell is intriguing, I can get on board with that. Bevell, ehh possibly, but is he just benefiting from Sean Payton and Drew Brees? I just would like some fresh blood, the thought of Lovie Smith or some of the other schmucks Pancakes mentioned is nauseating.
Granted, but we may very well end up drafting a young QB who is really good. That's precisely why Bevell is so intriguing to me.
Oh, I so feel the exact same way, and I am afraid that is what we are going to get, a good ole boy, battle fighting, yes man. This decision is absolutely critical. We need a tough, no nonsense, smart as a whip coach who knows what to do and how to do it and won't put up with anything short of excellence.
I agree, Sherman was an assistant and offensive coordinator for like 3 years with the Texans. I would definitely pass on that. Jay may be intriguing as a prospect but I don't feel like he would even be in my top 5 of coaching candidates.
If they hire Mike Sherman, I'm done. I don't even understand how that name would even get out as a possibility. I can't imagine for a second that he's even a remote possibility.
Its an awful list... mainly because all of the above coaches were fired not just because their team was mediocre or started losing, but because teams felt they were no longer good enough. This is in contrast for when the Browns/Ravens fired Belicheck... who had to attempt to coach a team that was uprooted mid-season from the only city it knew. That team was 4-1 at the time of the announcement, and was a pre-season favorite to go deep in the playoffs... and the wheels fell off after the announcement. I'd like to see the NFL "retread" record... a coach who was fired (did not resign or leave on his own accord... like Parcells), and what they did in subsequent re-hirings. Marty Schottenheimer comes to mind as one of the few who gets multiple chances (and really, his firings were a result more of repeated "playoff" failure... which I'd take for any franchise. Hell, Marv Levy was never fired for "super bow failure", and rightfully so). Norv Turner has not learned how to become a successful head coach with his multiple coaching gigs... but he proves again and again that he's a successful coordinator. The Texans don't need to hire Whisenhunt or Lovie Smith to try to create the next Norv Turner.
I know people hate Kubiak and are glad he is gone. But is it possible he was getting the most of the team we had. Perhaps last years 11-1 start was Kub getting the most out of this team and the reality is we were really not as good as our record. What we looked like at the end of last year and this year is really what this team is. When healthy we are a 500 team. But when you lose Foster and Cushing and Owen Daniels. And you don't resign players like Demeco and Barwin you end up not being that good. The offensive line played terrible to begin the year. They got a little better later on but without Foster running well teams focused on the pass. Schaub lost some confidence at the end of last year and it carried over. In hindsight Schaub is the best QB on the team, the absolute best. Yet during the season everyone including me thought Kub should have subbed Schaub much earlier than he did. Guess Kub was smarter than us all on that. As for the defense losing Cushing was a big loss but Brooks reed wasn't the pass rusher we had hoped for and Mercilus was slow coming around. Ed Reed was a total bust and Joseph was way overated. Swearinger will be good but he's a rookie and needs time. This team had more holes than anyone wanted to admit too but when healthy could win a few games. But with all of the injuries and the collapse of Schaub Kub pretty much got what we he could from the team. Even Keenum looked better under Kub. I'm not saying this because I want Kub back. Sometimes you need a change. Keeping Kubiak would be the worst decision McNair could make. The fans would turn on the team and boos would be heard every bad decision. Sometimes change is necessary for the sake of change. The problem is the Head coaches available suck. If McNair is only going to select from Head Coaches with NFL experience we are doomed. Of the coaches available most have lost their jobs because they couldn't get it done before. I don't think any of them is better than Kubiak. What we need is a brilliant mind with new ideas that just hasn't been discovered yet. Someone who is having success in his job now not someone who got fired. The problem is McNair wouldn't know a good coach. His main concern is the guy is a disciplinarian and cares more about management than the players. Kubiak was too nice and the team had no discipline so we need to change it and get a hard coach next. This team will get better just because players will get better. Hopkins will be better next year hopefully Foster recovers and contributes. We'll have a better QB. On defense Cushing will be back, Swearinger will improve. Mercilus has shown slow improvement throughout the season, even Reed has looked a little better lately. JJ anchors the defense. These guys are young and will get better. We have 4 draft picks out of the first 100 and we will have some money for a couple of free agents. This will be better next year but we need the right coach to move us along. Someone who can evaluate talent and instill confidence in his players. I don't believe McNair will find him.
McClain of the Chronicle seems to be continually talking about and showing pics of Lovie Smith. If he has inside information, this is our next coach, and I am not particularly excited.
McClain said he would hire Smith or O'Brien if it was up to him, so that may be why. (And/or maybe Lovie is a real, legitimate candidate.)
Nothing against Lovie, but he's basically an incarnation of Kubiak. We need to be bold. O'Brien would be an exciting choice.
Lovie has accomplished more than Gary, but seems to be a similar temperament. I think many of us want a BIG change.
Texans interview Lovie Smith Among the other candidates the Texans are interested in are interim coach Wade Phillips, Penn State coach Bill O’Brien and San Diego offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.
What is everyone's fascination with the coach that yells and screams and jumps up and down like a maniac? Most coaches in the NFL are more like this: Than like this: Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, John Fox, Sean Payton, John Harbaugh, Chuck Pagano... all of those guys have a pretty similar "temperament" to Lovie. Not that I think Lovie is the right guy, but I really don't give a crap how demonstrative the guy is. Nothing about him tells me that he's incompetent, a yes-man, or lax on discipline. If he brings in some decent football minds and wins games, that's all I care about.
Retreads are like any other type of candidate. There are successes and failures. Just look at the league right now. The 3 teams with the best records all have recent retreads as head coaches. But then you have teams like the Rams, Giants, and Redskins in the bottom half o the league with retread head coaches (though Coughlin did win 2 Super Bowls as a retread). Now, I disagree with McNair limiting his search almost exclusively to retreads, but "retread" by itself shouldn't be a dirty word.
