Who Is Going to Coach The Houston Texans?
The past month for Houston sports fans has been tough. James Harden getting traded last week from the Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets was a dagger. But at the same time, that cut does not go as deep as Houston’s 25-year-old superstar quarterback, Deshaun Watson, signaling that he is done with the team that drafted him back in 2017.
“Deshaun Watson is not returning calls from the organization. … The Texans have very little control here.”
—@AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/rV6x5Fxuk0
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 18, 2021
The Houston Texans have royally messed up their team. It all started by allowing former head coach Bill O’Brien to be in control of the roster. Mr. O’Brien traded away numerous draft picks, and one of the top receivers in the game, DeAndre Hopkins, for almost a bag of footballs (sorry David Johnson).
O’Brien put the team in a tough position, but at the end of the day it is ownership’s fault for giving him such authority in regards to personnel. It is also the fault of Texan’s ownership in pissing off Watson.
The group led by Cal McNair said that they would involve the star signal-caller in the hiring of both their general manager and head coach. Clearly the Texans did not keep that promise, and now Watson is at his breaking point.
So with all that being said, who is going to coach the Texans? Who wants to be the coach of the Texans?
One league source connected to the Texans’ HC situation said Saturday: “It’s gone from the least desirable head coaching job (opening) to the most undesirable head coaching job in the NFL. That’s a fact. That’s how that job is now looked at by everybody.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 17, 2021
I mean seriously, the Texans are a rebuilding team that don’t even have a first or second round pick in this upcoming draft. That would probably change once/if Watson is dealt, but that wouldn’t ease the pain of trading away a top-five quarterback in the NFL.
What coach wants to place themselves into this mess? Eventually the job will be taken by someone. A NFL head coaching gig is a NFL head coaching gig. There are only 32 of those jobs in the world. Still, anyone willing to put themselves on the front lines for a Texans organization that can’t seem to get it right is a little crazy.
The depleted roster, the potential lack of a quarterback, and the little amount of draft capital they have is setting their next hire up for failure.
But back to the original question: who will coach the Houston Texans in 2021?
So far, here are the coaches that the team has interviewed, or are interested in interviewing for the job:
– Buffalo Bills Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier
– Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy
– Ravens assistant head coach/passing game coordinator David Culley
– Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady
– Former Detroit Lions, and Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell
– Former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis
Of that group, my best guess to be the Texans next head coach would be Eric Beiniemy. Why? Well, Bieniemy has been a part of one of the most lethal passing attacks the NFL has ever seen over the past three years. He is also the coaching candidate that Watson was pulling for to get an interview with the team.
But without downplaying how deserving Bieniemy is to get the chance to be a lead man, the main reason I believe he is the next guy is because the Texans will try and use the hiring as a way to lure Watson back into the fold. Will it work? Who knows. Only time will tell.
– Jarrod Ribaudo (@jarrod_ribaudo on Twitter)