ROCKET FUEL
Why the Rockets next head coach needs to bring something extra
Apr 11, 2023, 6:04 pm
A fiery head coach seems like the answer. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
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From the moment the Houston Rockets hired Stephen Silas as their head coach on Oct. 28, 2020 he was dead man prowling the sidelines. The poor guy never had a prayer. A petulant superstar, dwindling crowds, sourpuss role players, overwhelmed rookies and losing. Lots and lots of losing.
Three disheartening years later, saddled with a career won-loss record for the history books, 59-177, Silas has been told that his services are no longer needed. Technically, the Rockets won’t be picking up the fourth-year option on Silas’ contract, but however you frame it, whatever words you want to use, Silas is out as Rockets coach.
And now the Rockets face the most important decision of Tilman Fertitta’s time as owner and Rafael Stone’s tenure as general manager.
Who will be the Houston Rockets’ next coach?
Looking back, the hiring of Silas was a risky reach that didn’t succeed. Silas had been an NBA assistant coach for 20 years without a head coaching offer from anywhere else. Maybe Houston teams need to stop hiring decades-long career assistants as their top man. At least Silas made three years with the Rockets. David Culley lasted barely one season with the Texans.
Maybe it’s time to put some judgment on the executives who hire these “inexperienced veterans” as head coaches. What did they see that no one else saw for 20-plus years?
The Rockets help wanted ad should be simple: “looking for a candidate with NBA head coaching experience and a fiery personality who can develop young players into stars.”
Otherwise ….
The Rockets franchise is hanging in the balance between being an NBA glamour franchise, a perennial playoff team loaded with All-Stars playing in front of packed Toyota Center crowds – or becoming Detroit or Orlando or just another non-factor NBA city trudging toward the lottery. Once you hit that status, it’s a long, tough road back. Ask Sacramento.
The Rockets are perilously close to irrelevancy. Once the hardest ticket in town, the Rockets promotions department was working overtime this season creating deals like “one ticket plus a quesadilla and a beer for $29.” You don’t need to see a menu to realize that the Rockets were literally giving away games free this season. And the stands were still half-empty some nights. Heck, one game the Rockets were giving away WWE Undertaker bobbleheads to lure fans into Toyota Center.
This was the year the NBA set an all-time, league-wide attendance record. A total of 22,234,502 fans watched games live in arenas. The Rockets should have been leading that charge, not using quesadillas as come-ons.
Everybody agrees that Silas is one heck of a guy, a sweetheart, a prince. But watching him sit on the bench placidly resigned to loss after loss got old. NBA analysts predict that Silas will be a prized get for a team looking for an assistant coach. Silas just may not be a head coach. It would be difficult for a struggling team to hire Silas, nearing his 50th birthday, as head coach and sell him to a bloodthirsty fan base.
The Rockets need a maniac with a short fuse to light a fire under their young roster. Let’s see some veins popping in foreheads on the sideline. Let’s get a coach who sweats through his sports jacket. I want the back row of the upper deck to hear our coach screaming at officials. It’s OK to get thrown out of a game to get Toyota Center crazy. We want the Rockets back on TNT and into the playoffs.
The New York Knicks languished for years as a non-factor, patsies on opponents’ schedules. Then they hired hothead Tom Thibodeau as coach, a Type A personality if ever there was one, and the Knicks are back, baby. Madison Square Garden is rocking again.
Rockets, do that.
Editor's note: The Rockets have received permission to interview Kenny Atkinson and Adrian Griffin for their vacant coaching position.
New #Rockets at Houston Chronicle — Rockets get permission to interview Kenny Atkinson, Adrian Griffin https://t.co/n1sR54U19j
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) April 11, 2023
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NFL insiders hint at eye-opening future for Houston Texans offense
Dec 7, 2024, 2:38 pm
C.J. Stroud faced criticism in Houston's last few games as the Texans hit a rough patch after losing just two of their first eight games.
But the second-year quarterback remained confident and his strong performance last Sunday helped the Texans (8-5) to a 23-20 win over the Jaguars to enter their bye with a two-game lead atop the AFC South.
“When he is leading and playing the way he is playing, our entire team feeds off of him,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I am excited for his second year. I think he is showing a ton of growth, he is in a really great spot for us physically, mentally. I really love where he is and I am excited to see how he comes back after the break.”
Stroud threw for 242 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville to leave him ranked fourth in the NFL with 3,117 yards passing this season. That game came after he threw two interceptions in a 32-27 loss to Tennessee a week before for the team’s third loss in four games.
Those two interceptions brought his season total to nine, which are four more than he threw in 15 games a rookie. But the Texans aren’t worried about that statistic and believe he has grown in his second year.
“He’s made a lot of progress,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “There are some plays, like all of our players, that we probably wish he could have back, but happy he’s our quarterback, happy with what he brings to the table. ... Wouldn’t want anyone else leading this team.”
The Texans are in position to win their division for a second straight season despite dealing with several significant injuries on offense. Running back Joe Mixon missed three games early with an ankle injury and leading receiver Nico Collins was sidelined for five games with a hamstring injury.
They also lost four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs for the season when tore an ACL in Week 8.
Mixon leads the team with 887 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and has added four touchdown receptions. His work in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati has helped the team deal with those significant injuries to the receiving corps.
Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing in seven games.
Stroud has continually raved about Mixon’s contributions on and off the field.
“He’s a servant, a helper,” Stroud said. “That’s ultimately what I want to be as well. Who can I serve and how can I help? That’s ultimately what the game of football is.”
While Mixon has been the team’s most important new acquisition on offense, Danielle Hunter has been Houston’s new defensive star. The defensive end spent his first eight seasons in Minnesota before joining the Texans this year.
He has helped Houston lead the NFL with 84 tackles for loss after piling up 15 this season, which is tied for third most in the league. He also leads the Texans with 10½ sacks to help them rank second with 42.
Hunter been a great addition to a team that already had defensive end Will Anderson Jr., last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Anderson ranks second to Hunter on the team with 13 tackles for loss and 9½ sacks.
Ryans said this week’s break is much needed for a team that opened the preseason on Aug. 1 in the Hall of Fame game.
“It’s here and we’re going to take advantage of it,” he said. “We’ve been going at it for a long time.”
The Texans need to recharge this week with a brutal stretch of three games in 10 days when they return from their bye. Houston hosts Miami on Dec. 15 before a trip to Kansas City on Dec. 21 and a visit from the Ravens on Christmas Day.
“It’s Christmas and all that, but we can’t worry about that. All we can do is focus on Miami,” Caserio said. “And then when we get through the Miami game, then we kind of turn the page to the next. ... We’re either going to earn it or we’re not. Not to oversimplify it, but that’s the truth.”
The Texans will play those game without starting linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after he received a three-game suspension for his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion.
Al-Shaair will be eligible to return for Houston’s regular-season finale against Tennessee.