Texans set with QB Watson; most everything else in question

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans know Deshaun Watson is the quarterback they need to lead them next year and beyond.

After that, things are a lot murkier for the franchise, which finished this season at 4-12 after winning the AFC South the previous two years.

First on the list of priorities for the Texans is to hire a coach and general manager. Houston fired Bill O'Brien, who manned both roles, after an 0-4 start and Romeo Crennel finished out the season as interim coach.

The Texans have already interviewed former Detroit coach Jim Caldwell and former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, and are said to be interested in Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Indianapolis defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, among other candidates.

Houston's next general manager will have the tall task of improving the team without a pick in the first or second round of this year's draft. Miami has both of those picks as part of the deal that brought left tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills (who was released in November) to Houston.

Watson didn't mention any contenders for the lead roles by name, but he had strong words for what he'd like to see from his next coach.

"We just need a whole culture shift," Watson said. "We just need new energy. We just need discipline. We need structure. We need a ... leader so we can follow that leader as players."

Watson continued to play at a high level even as the Texans lost their last five games. He led the NFL in yards passing with a franchise-record 4,823 yards, moving ahead of Patrick Mahomes (4,740) when the Chiefs QB didn't play in the final game of the season.

Watson also set a franchise mark by throwing 33 touchdown passes and ran for 444 yards to become the first quarterback in NFL history with at least 4,800 yards passing and 400 yards rushing.

He remains confident he can lead Houston to its first championship.

"I don't want to sit here and dwell on the bad things," he said. "It's all the good things that I want to continue to take into the offseason and build that momentum for the new staff and the new direction we want to go with this organization." WATT'S FUTURE

This season could mark the end of an era in Houston. Star defensive end J.J. Watt is under contract for one more season but has said he doesn't want to be part of a rebuilding team, leading to speculation that he could be traded this offseason.

"There's a whole lot of unknowns, so we'll see what happens," the threetime Defensive Player of the Year said. "I don't have any guarantees left in my contract, so something's got to happen one way or another."

If Watt moves on, it would leave a huge hole on a defense that already needs plenty of improvement. The Texans ranked last in the NFL by allowing 160.3 yards rushing a game.

Watt was asked to evaluate the team's defensive performance this season on Sunday after the Texans allowed Derrick Henry to rush for 250 yards.

"Terrible," he said. "We played horrendous. That's pretty obvious."