The right man?

Fred Faour: Texans have a lot of questions, but no one is talking about the biggest one

Fred Faour: Texans have a lot of questions, but no one is talking about the biggest one
It's time for Bill O'Brien to prove himself. Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

As the Texans navigate their way through the early stages of camp, the big stories and question marks are obvious.

Can the revamped offensive line perform at an even mediocre level?

Do they have enough a running back if D’Onta Foreman is not ready to start the season?

Can J.J. Watt return to any semblance of his former self?

Will the rebuilt secondary help the Texans improve on last season’s defensive disaster?

And, most importantly, can Deshaun Watson stay healthy and perform at a level close to what we saw in his brief but magical run last season?

Fair questions all, and each has been and will continue to be debated until the season begins and likely beyond.

But perhaps the biggest question -- and one that seems to be flying under the radar -- involves the head coach, Bill O’Brien. Actually, it’s more than one question. Is he even the right man for the job? Can he improve some obvious holes in his game? And perhaps most critical -- is he even a good coach?

O’Brien’s record in four years is 31-33. Last year’s 4-12 disaster skewered the results somewhat after three straight 9-7 marks, but a four-year sample size is fair enough. O’Brien defenders will point to the revolving door at quarterback, which is fair, but he hand picked all of those players.

He came to town with a reputation as an offensive guru, yet his offenses have ranked 17th, 19th, 29th and 20th in yards, respectively. While not an all-inclusive stat, it still matches up with the other relevant offensive stats. Essentially, under O’Brien, the Texans have not even had an average NFL season offensively, ranging from slightly below league average to downright awful.

In addition, his game management has often left a lot to be desired. Conservative playcalling late cost the Texans potential wins against New England and Seattle last season, and that has been a common theme throughout his career.

His hires -- a major part of being a head coach -- have been dicey as well. Romeo Crennel was a terrific pickup at defensive coordinator, but “promoting” him last season so that Mike Vrabel could become DC was an unmitigated disaster. The Texans were lucky the Titans hired Vrabel to be head coach, because they could erase their mistake by bringing back Crennel.

Special teams have been awful every year. And George Godsey had to be jettisoned as a sacrificial lamb as offensive coordinator since O’Brien could not fire himself.

And yes, injuries certainly have played a part, but his reputation as a guy who could develop quarterbacks has been pure fiction.

In public he comes off as an arrogant, stand-offish bully, and he hardly paints a picture of stability. Those close to O’Brien say he is not like that, but his public displays scream otherwise.

Throw in all the leaked stories from his camp about other teams being interested in him to instigate a power struggle with former GM Rick Smith, and there really isn’t much positive to say about the man in charge.

Yet his offense under Watson was amazing, and gave the impression of what could be this season, hence a contract extension. He also has a new general manager in place that he is presumably on the same page with. He won his power struggle, and now is out of excuses.

Coaches, like players, can grow and develop. So far, O’Brien has shown little of that. Giving the defense back to Crennel should help on that side of the ball. Hiring yet another special teams coach may or may not help. Improved playcalling and game management in critical situations by O'Brien himself is a must for the Texans to be successful. This season will be critical for O'Brien to prove he is more than just talk and fake reputation and can be the coach Texans fans hope he can become.

Having said all that, coaches and quarterbacks get too much blame for poor performances and too much credit for wins. If Watson is what he showed us, he can cover up a lot of O’Brien’s failings.

If not, can O’Brien cover up Watson’s?

That might be the biggest question facing these Texans in 2018, and one no one is talking about. 

 

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The Texans are the class of the division. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans received a lot of praise for their moves in free agency across various outlets. And for good reason, most people believe the team got significantly better with the additions of Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Denico Autry among others.

But there's another factor to consider this offseason. How much have the other teams in the AFC South improved?

When looking at the PFF grades in free agency, the Colts received a B-minus. Most of the Colts moves this offseason involved spending a lot of money re-signing their own players. Which is great in theory, but it's hard to improve the overall quality of your roster when you're bringing back players that were already there to begin with. A lot will be riding on player development for the Colts to see a big jump this season. A healthy quarterback wouldn't hurt either.

The Jaguars have made some big additions financially this offseason by signing receiver Gabe Davis and defensive tackle Arik Armstead. They also lost the top receiver on the market, Calvin Ridley, to the Titans. Gabe Davis wasn't able to establish himself as a reliable No. 2 receiver with Josh Allen throwing him the ball in Buffalo. So it's hard to believe he'll take the next step in Jacksonville. Their best move of the offseason might have been retaining edge rusher Josh Allen by using the franchise tag on him. So what did PFF think of Jacksonville's offseason? They received a B-minus, just like the Colts.

The Titans have a lot of turnover heading into the 2024 season, and not just on the roster. They have a new head coach in Brian Callahan, who's looking to revamp Tennessee's offense. Early in free agency, they agreed to terms with former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, signing him to a 3-year deal at $8 million per season. Which is more money than the Ravens are paying for Derrick Henry, who left the Titans in free agency. Calvin Ridley was the most notable addition to the squad, he received a 4-year, $92 million deal. And while this could be viewed as an overpay, at least he gives the Titans' offense some upside. Their receiving corps looks a lot more dangerous with Ridley added to DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks.

They also spent big at the center position, adding Lloyd Cushenberry on a 4-year, $50 million contract.

Because the Titans spent a lot of money on some highly coveted players, PFF gave them a B.

Now that brings us to the Texans. The Texans re-signed some of their own players like Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown. But they also made some big splashes with Hunter, Autry, Al-Shaair, and Joe Mixon. But the Texans spent their money in a more conservative way by not handing out many contracts over two years in length.

The Texans managed to add the best pass rusher in free agency with Hunter, but it's only a two-year deal. The overall talent level is going up on this roster, and GM Nick Caserio isn't having to sign players to long contracts that could come back and haunt him.

That's why we're seeing post-free agency power rankings coming out with Houston in the Top 10. And that's also why PFF gave the Texans an A for their moves in free agency.

Be sure to check out the video above as Craig from Sports Talk Extra takes an in-depth look at PFF's grades for the AFC South, and much more!

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