Cowherd divulges private interaction with Texans that should have fans excited
INSIDE INFORMATION
16 April
INSIDE INFORMATION
The Houston Texans have all the media outlets talking about them this offseason, after making some bold moves that ownership hopes will bring the city its first Super Bowl.
Cal and Hannah McNair have made it clear that they “want to win now” and their moves in free agency certainly back that up. Full transparency, Cowherd has some concerns about the Texans ability to repeat last year's success with a first-place schedule in 2024 that should challenge CJ Stroud and the Texans.
But he's starting to rethink his predictions for Houston (missing the playoffs), because of the team's aggressive approach this offseason.
“The Houston Texans now have a very sharp GM, a great coach, a great coordinator, and a star quarterback,” said Cowherd.
Later, he makes the point that the Patriots didn't draft well when Texans GM Nick Caserio worked under Bill Belichick in New England. Yet, in Houston, Caserio has done a good job in the draft. Which leads Colin to believe Belichick is the reason the Patriots had so many draft misses over the last several years.
This isn't about luck
Cowherd knows the Texans didn't rebuild this quickly because of luck, despite some comments from his co-host to the contrary.
“Houston has turned around a shipwreck in a year and a half based on smart people making really smart moves,” Cowherd stated.
And then Colin said something very fascinating. A couple of years ago, Cowherd interviewed Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, a player many had being mocked to the Texans before the draft.
After the interview, the Texans reached out to Cowherd just to get his thoughts on Hamilton. Trying to get any information on what he was like as a person, how he behaved when the cameras were off, that type of thing.
The Texans reached out wanting to know his “interpretation” of the player after spending thirty-five minutes with him. And Colin gladly answered their questions.
After some lean years for Texans fans, it's great to see the front office is going the extra mile to acquire any information they can about the players on their draft board. This is what smart organizations do.
In the end, Houston traded back and did not draft Hamilton. Hamilton has since been drafted by the Ravens and made All-Pro in 2024. But the point remains, the Texans are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to making informed decisions in the draft.
You can watch the video above for the full conversation. The Hamilton topic starts at the 3:10 mark in the video.
One of the nuggets that came out of Nick Caserio's press conference this week, was his thoughts on the job Bobby Slowik has done as an offensive coordinator. When asked if the team has considered sharing the offensive play calling, Caseiro responded with an emphatic, “absolutely not.”
Caserio went on to praise the job Slowik has done this year, and to say the team's struggles in the second half this season is due to execution.
This stance is consistent with what we've heard from Texans insiders that believe Slowik will be back next season. As much as many Texans fans believe a change at OC could help CJ Stroud, who's shown regression this year, it doesn't appear Slowik is going anywhere.
To be fair, most teams aren't looking to replace their coordinators when they're leading their division and marching toward the postseason for the second straight year.
Number crunching
When comparing Stroud's stats to last season, there is a clear dropoff in 2024. But a lot of that has to do with the addition of Joe Mixon, especially when it comes to touchdowns.
Mixon is third in the NFL with 11 rushing TDs, while Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary only combined for 6 over the entire 2023 season. One could argue the passing offense has regressed, but one could also argue the offense overall is more balanced.
Stroud is still Top 5 in passing yards, heading into this week's games. And even if we account for the bye week, Stroud will still be Top 10 after this week's slate of games.
The most concerning number to keep an eye on is sacks. Only one QB has been sacked more than Stroud, who's been sacked 41 times. CJ's protection has gotten better since Juice Scruggs was moved to guard, and Jarrett Patterson was inserted at center.
If Stroud starts getting hit again at a high level, that may be the one factor that could make the front office rethink their plans at coordinator. However, if the Texans do make a change, we expect them to address their o-line coach before any changes at OC.
Be sure to watch the video above for our full breakdown of the Texans offense, the coaching staff, and our thoughts on how the Azeez Al-Shaair suspension will impact the team.