FALCON POINTS

McNair makes the right call in firing O'Brien, but next moves will be critical

Texans Bill O'Brien and Brandin Cooks
How a poor performance in Pittsburgh could drastically impact a popular Texans debate

Cal McNair made a strong move on Monday when he fired Bill O'Brien, a man who had done everything he could to ruin the Texans organization. It was way overdue, but at least it happened. McNair deserves credit for finally pulling the plug.

But what he does next will define the Texans future. Things look bleak, but a shrewd GM could turn things around rather quickly. They need only to look to Philadelphia, where the Eagles fired a similar failed dictator in Chip Kelly, and quickly turned things around enough to win a Super Bowl.

In the short term

This year's team, believe it or not, could still pull it together enough to earn a playoff spot in an expanded field. The defense has been awful, but part of it is they have been on the field so much thanks to an inept offense. Unfortunately there are no quick, easy fixes other than being on the field less. Offensively, they need to simplify things and take advantage of Deshaun Watson's talents. The real problem is there is no one on staff that appears capable of that, because O'Brien surrounded himself with yes men and sycophants.

Interim coach Romeo Crennel has been here before, so he should be able to make the team competitive. But as a defensive mind, he will need help on the other side of the ball. The Texans should consider bringing in an offensive consultant for the remainder of the season, someone with a track record of success. Former Roughnecks coach June Jones or someone like him could help salvage the season by suggesting some twists on offense. There are coaches out there who could help, and Crennel should take advantage. Otherwise, it's hard to see this team winning many games, and with both top draft picks already dealt, losing does not benefit them. So trying to salvage 2020 is the only real option. They need immediate help for that.

In the long term

None of this is going to matter until the off-season, but this is where McNair will be tasked with his most important decisions, starting with the GM. The Texans will need a strong personnel man, one who will remake the roster next season. With several moves, there could easily be enough cap room to make some solid free agent signings that will keep the team competitive next season.

That GM might have to make some hard choices, though. Moving on from Will Fuller, Kenny Stills, Brandin Cooks, David Johnson, Duke Johnson and Bernardrick McKinney could clear over $37 million in cap space. If you add Nick Martin, that is another $6.5. And moving on from J.J. Watt would free up another $17.5. So there will be room to work with despite O'Brien overpaying several players. Unfortunately, they are stuck with Zach Cunningham, Whitney Mercilus and Randall Cobb's awful deals, but those can be worked around. In almost every case but Watt, cheaper players can be found at every position who will be able to at least match the production from the overpaid group. The team could also land a couple impact free agents with the money they will save, so the cupboard is not going to be completely bare - if McNair gets the right GM.

Ideally he would tap into shrewd organizations - the Ravens, Chiefs, Seahawks, Steelers, Packers - and get someone who will put the team back on the right track.

As for coaches, this will be critical as well. Hopefully they will stay away from the Patriots and hit a full reset. Josh McDaniels has already been mentioned as a replacement, but we have seen his act in Denver and he is O'Brien light. The organization needs a new voice. Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy would be the perfect choice, but he will have his pick of jobs. Other names to watch include Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who had Watson with the Tigers and might be ready to jump to the NFL. The usual suspects as coordinators - Robert Saleh (49ers) Greg Roman (Ravens OC), Brian Daboll (Bills OC) - will also be considered. Whoever it is will have Watson to work around, so the guess is it will be an offensive minded coach. What he does with the staff will be critical as well. If it is an inexperienced head coach, say Bieniemy, ideally he would hire experienced NFL coordinators with head coaching experience. A talented staff could turn things around pretty quickly.

But it will be on McNair to make the right call at both GM and coach. Poor decisions could only exacerbate O'Brien's failures and set the team back for years. But good hires - smart, talented hires - could turn things around fairly quickly.

McNair made the right call on firing O'Brien. Now he needs to make two more.

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The Coogs are back in action Friday night. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.

Sixteen may be sweet, but it isn’t the only relevant number as the NCAA Tournament heads into the regional semifinals.

Here are some other numbers worth knowing for each team. These statistics will help you learn more about each of the remaining teams and could explain how some of them got this far.

EAST REGION

UCONN: In UConn’s second-round victory over Northwestern, Donovan Clingan became just the third player in tournament history to get 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks in a game. The others to do it were Hakeem Olajuwon for Houston in 1983 and David Robinson for Navy in 1986. The blocks also were the most ever by a UConn player in a tournament game.

SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs’ Sweet 16 matchup with defending national champion UConn will mark the fourth time that two teams have faced each other in the tournament a year after meeting in the final. The losing team from the championship won the rematch in one of the three previous instances, when Duke beat UNLV in a 1991 semifinal. Cincinnati won two straight championship games over Ohio State in 1961-62. Florida beat UCLA in the 2006 championship game and in a 2007 semifinal.

ILLINOIS: Illinois has won six in a row, and Terrence Shannon Jr. has scored at least 25 points in each of those games. The 6-foot-6 guard has averaged 30.5 points and has shot 52.8% (56 of 106) from the floor during that stretch. He also shown an uncanny knack for drawing fouls during the streak. Over his last five games, Shannon has gone 51 of 58 on free-throw attempts.

IOWA STATE: Iowa State is allowing just 61.2 points per game to rank fourth among all Division I teams in scoring defense. Since falling 73-65 to Houston on Feb. 19, the Cyclones haven’t allowed any of their last 10 opponents to exceed 65 points. The Cyclones next face Illinois, which ranks ninth in points per game (84.6) and has averaged 91.3 points over its last four contests.

WEST REGION

ALABAMA: Mark Sears and Aaron Estrada were the first set of Division I teammates since 1996-97 to both have at least 410 points, 125 assists, 120 rebounds, 50 3-point baskets and 40 steals during the regular season. Sears is averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals. Estrada has 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

NORTH CAROLINA: Armando Bacot had seven straight tournament double-doubles and six consecutive tourney games with at least 15 rebounds before he ended up with 18 points and seven boards in a second-round victory over Michigan State. His seven straight NCAA double-doubles matched Tim Duncan and Olajuwon for the NCAA record.

ARIZONA: Arizona’s first-round triumph over Long Beach State marked the 19th time this season the Wildcats had five different players score in double figures. No other Division I team had that many games this season in which five different players had at least 10 points.

CLEMSON: Each of Clemson’s first two tournament opponents has shot below 40% against the Tigers. Clemson won its first-round game by limiting New Mexico to 29.7% shooting, the lowest percentage the Tigers had ever allowed in an NCAA tourney game. Clemson now faces Arizona, which shot 52.8% in its second-round victory over Dayton.

MIDWEST REGION

CREIGHTON: Baylor Scheierman is the first Division I men’s player in history to have at least 2,000 career points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 3-point baskets. Scheierman, who is in his second season at Creighton after playing three seasons at South Dakota State, has 2,208 points, 1,250 rebounds, 578 assists and 352 3-pointers.

TENNESSEE: Tennessee is making its 10th Sweet 16 appearance – including its seventh in the last 18 years – but the Volunteers have never reached the Final Four and earned their lone regional final berth in 2010.

GONZAGA: Gonzaga is in the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight time, the longest active streak of any Division I team. Going back to 1975 – the first year that all teams had to win at least one game to reach the Sweet 16 – the record for consecutive Sweet 16 appearances is owned by North Carolina with 13 straight from 1981-93.

PURDUE: Zach Edey is the first player since Kareen Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) in 1968 to have at least 50 points and 35 rebounds while shooting 65% from the field in his first two games of an NCAA Tournament. Edey has shot 67.9% (19 of 28) and has totaled 53 points and 35 rebounds in victories over Grambling State and Utah State.

SOUTH REGION

DUKE: Jared McCain has gone 10 of 17 from 3-point range through the first two rounds. In the Blue Devils’ second-round blowout of James Madison, McCain became the first freshman to score at least 30 points without committing a turnover in an NCAA Tournament game since the event expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

HOUSTON: The Cougars showcased their depth by surviving a second-round matchup with Texas A&M in overtime even after four of their five starters fouled out. They became the first team to win an NCAA game while having at least four players foul out since 1987, when UTEP overcame foul trouble to beat Arizona.

MARQUETTE: Marquette owns a 75-29 record under coach Shaka Smart despite posting a negative rebound margin in each of his three seasons. The Golden Eagles have been outrebounded in each of their last eight games but have gone 5-3. They’re getting outrebounded by 3 boards per game this season. The only other Sweet 16 team with a negative rebound margin is North Carolina State (minus-0.8), which faces Marquette on Friday.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE: Mohamed Diarra has 6.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season, but he’s averaged 11.7 points and 13.5 rebounds over his last six. Michael O’Connell scored in double digits three times and totaled 14 3-point baskets in 31 regular-season games. He’s reached double figures in six of seven postseason games and has gone 12 of 22 from 3-point range during that stretch.

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