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Here's why the Texans place in the AFC South moving forward is so uncertain
Jan 5, 2022, 2:52 pm
This division is winnable, but the Texans are playing the long game. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
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Texans head coach David Culley is coming back next season. Although he signed a five-year deal, this season could've been his first and last as Texans' coach. Going into the final game of the season at 4-12 against the AFC South division leader and number one seed in the conference, isn't an ideal landing spot for a new coach. Sure, this roster was in desperate need of an overhaul. But you can't hold a coach solely responsible for the bleep show the previous regime left.
General manager Nick Caserio is a smart enough guy to know what he's up against. He knows the first hurdle has been cleared, but there's so many more to clear before becoming relevant again. The decision to bring Culley back for next season should've been inevitable. There was no way this team was in position to bring in another coach. The roster is still in flux. This team is still a year or three away from truly competing. What coach would come in and right this ship right now?
When looking around the AFC South, are there any teams that have the sort of chokehold that makes it impossible for a team to get itself together and take over the top spot? The Colts used to be scary, but they don't have a franchise quarterback either...unless you think Carson Wentz is the answer. The Titans have Derrick Henry, aka King Henry...but he's going to wear down eventually given their reliance on him for the bulk of their offense. The Jags have a potential franchise quarterback...but they just fired their head coach and have Bill O'Brien of all people on their list of candidates.
This division is winnable, but the Texans are playing the long game. Right now, they know they don't have things in place to take over the AFC South just yet. If they get a franchise quarterback in place and build around him, they'll get right back on top. Easier said than done. Keeping Culley around gives Caserio the control he needs to reshape this roster and culture into something resembling what he can hang his hat on in his first GM job. There's a reason he got a six-year deal as a first time GM, but Culley only got a five-year deal as a first-time head coach. Caserio is seen as the guy who'll be responsible for the future of this franchise. Culley is a temporary incubator of what Caserio is trying to cultivate. This team will soon be in the hands of the guy Caserio sees as the long-term solution along the sidelines.
The Titans are holding it down now with the Colts trying to maintain relevance and knock them off. The Jags are the caboose with the Texans just ahead of them. Nobody has turned themselves into the Patriots of the last couple decades in the AFC East...yet. It's definitely possible, but it hasn't been executed. Can the Texans beat the Titans and the Colts to the punch? Will the Jags ever get themselves together long enough to be a factor? Only time will tell. Culley will be on the sidelines and in pressers next season. Some in the media will have a field day with his quirks for another season. Meanwhile, Caserio will be plotting on the long-term future of this franchise. He'll be looking at potential coaching candidates, scouting college for draft picks, and examining other NFL rosters for free agent/trade possibilities. Let the games begin. May the odds forever be in Texans' fans favor.
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Jul 8, 2025, 12:03 pm
Adding a player of Kevin Durant’s caliber was too valuable an opportunity for the Houston Rockets to pass up, even though it meant moving on from Jalen Green just four seasons after they drafted him second overall.
Durant was officially acquired from Phoenix on Sunday in a complicated seven-team transaction that sent Green and Dillon Brooks to the Suns and brought Clint Capela back to Houston from the Hawks.
General manager Rafael Stone is thrilled to add the future Hall of Famer, who will turn 37 in September, to a team which made a huge leap last season to earn the second seed in the Western Conference.
Asked Monday why he wanted to add Durant to the team, Stone smiled broadly before answering.
“He’s Kevin Durant,” Stone said. “He’s just — he’s really good. He’s super-efficient. He had a great year last year. He’s obviously not 30 anymore, but he hasn’t really fallen off and we just think he has a chance to really be impactful for us.”
But trading Green to get him was not an easy decision for Stone, Houston’s general manager since 2020.
“Jalen’s awesome, he did everything we asked,” Stone said. “He’s a wonderful combination of talent and work ethic along with being just a great human being. And any time that you have the privilege to work with someone who is talented and works really hard and is really nice, you should value it. And organizationally we’ve valued him tremendously, so yeah very hard.”
Green was criticized for his up-and-down play during the postseason when the Rockets were eliminated by the Warriors in seven games in the first round. But Green had improved in each of his four seasons in Houston, leading the team in scoring last season and playing all 82 games in both of the past two seasons.
Pressed for details about why Green's time was up in Houston, Stone wouldn't get into specifics.
“It’s the NBA and you can only do trades if a certain amount of money goes out and a certain amount comes in and there’s some positional overlap or at least overlap in terms of on ball presence,” he said. “And so that’s what the deal required.”
In Durant, the Rockets get a veteran of almost two decades who averaged 26.6 points and six rebounds a game last season and has a career average of 27.2 points and seven rebounds.
Houston loves the veteran experience and presence that Durant brings. Stone noted that the team had arranged for some of its players to work out with him in each of the past two offseasons.
“His work ethic is just awesome,” Stone said. “The speed at which he goes, not in a game … but the speed at which he practices and the intensity at which he practices is something that has made him great over the years and it started when he was very young. So of all the things that I hope rubs off, that’s the main one I think is that practice makes perfect. And I think one of the reasons he’s had such an excellent career is because of the intensity with which he works day in day out.”
Durant is a 15-time All-Star and four-time scoring champion, who was the Finals MVP twice. The former Texas Longhorn is one of eight players in NBA history to score at least 30,000 points and he won NBA titles in 2017 and 2018 with the Warriors.
Now he’ll join a team chasing its first NBA title since winning back-to-back championships in 1994-95.
“Everything has to play out, but we do — we like the fit,” Stone said. “We think it works well. We think he will add to us and we think we will help him.”