No. 1 in going the wrong direction
The Texans are No. 1. The Athletic conducted a survey of 33 NFL player agents, and, not surprisingly, the Texans were the runaway winners in the vote for “Which team had the most disappointing offseason?”
The Texans garnered 11 votes. No other team received more than three.
I’m not sure this is a fair election, considering the Deshaun Watson situation.
It is difficult to be worse than a team whose offseason is lowlighted by a potentially criminal scandal and the impending departure of one of the league’s best starting quarterback.
The hiring of David Culley didn’t exactly score any points for the Texans in that race either. While I think Culley will be fine,
his résumé doesn’t give off Vince Lombardi vibes.
The agents’ comments that the Athletic chose to run is an indicator of what people around the league think of the Texans:
“(Executive vice president) Jack Easterby is a trainwreck, and I know a lot of league folks think (CEO Cal McNair) is ‘Tommy Boy,’ which helps explain how Easterby happened. Then there’s Deshaun Watson. … Regardless, nobody trusts Easterby.”
“On paper, a wreck. Everything that seemingly could go wrong went wrong, starting with the quarterback.” “Where do I start?”
Yes, it all starts with Cal McNair, who has been all-but invisible at training camp. Considering some of his past public appearances, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Those clamoring for him to be out front aren’t doing so because they think it would be the best thing for the franchise. They want more ammunition to ridicule.
McNair talking to fans through the media has absolutely nothing to do with winning and losing. It could, however, affect ticket sales, and Texans’ tickets are at an all-time low in that area right now.
You can get into NRG Stadium for the season opener against Jacksonville for as little as $33.
Compare that to the $140 it takes to get into a nosebleed seat at Gillette Stadium to see the Patriots versus Miami to start the season.
Yes, the Texans should be embarrassed.
A year ago, Easterby sat with Bill O’Brien at a media dinner, and bragged about the franchise’s intelligent approach to the offseason. It was comical.
Did I mention that the Texans came in first in The Athletic’s “worst offseason” vote last year too?
That disastrous spring and summer included the indefensible trade of DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals and a draft that brought in five players, two of whom were cut in the last week. The agents were right in 2020. Are they on point in 2021? Give Nick Caserio time and he might be able to redirect the team’s course after a run of bad management.
But with Easterby is in the building and participating in decisions, and McNair at the top, convincing anyone that the team is headed in the right direction is going to be a challenge.