Coaching conundrum: Hire offense or defense
HOUSTON — When Cal McNair and his new general manager are compiling a list of candidates to replace Bill O’Brien as the next head coach, they should include Tennessee offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
Smith, 38, is in his 10th season with the Titans. He worked two seasons for Joe Gibbs at Washington as a defensive quality control assistant out of college. Mike Munchak hired him with the Titans in 2011. Munchak’s successors — Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Mularkey and Mike Vrabel — all retained Smith on their staffs. That tells you how highly they thought of him.
In 2019, Vrabel promoted Smith to offensive coordinator, and the rest is Titans history. He’s done a terrific job turning around quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s career. He’s built an offense that’s difficult to stop because running back Derrick Henry is such a workhorse who makes the playaction game work to perfection.
If you don’t believe me, just ask the Texans. Smith’s offense scored six touchdowns — four passing and two rushing — in the unbeaten Titans’ 42-36 overtime victory Sunday.
Smith’s going to be a hot property after the season, and he must be on the list of candidates that should also include three more offensive coordinators — Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs), Greg Roman (Ravens) and Brian Daboll (Bills) — among others.
It stands to reason the Texans will want a new head coach who has an offensive background and a successful track record of coaching a mobile quarterback like Deshaun Watson.
Against the Titans, Watson played his best game since last season. Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly is getting more confident calling plays. Watson is getting more comfortable with new teammates like receivers Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb and running back David Johnson.
Watson and the offense played
well enough to beat Tennessee, but the defense cost them the game. He finished with 28 of 37 (75.6 percent) for 335 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, two sacks and a 138.9 rating.
It’s clear to anyone who’s watched the Texans this season Watson is going to have to throw to win because the running game is bad and the defense is perhaps the worst in franchise history, particularly when it comes to stopping — or trying to stop — the run.
Now, here’s something I hadn’t considered until I watched the Texans’ defense crater to the Titans, allowing touchdown drives of 76 yards to tie the game with 4 seconds left and 82 yards to win in overtime.
Should McNair consider a defensive guru as his head coach?
The Texans are one of 10 teams with one or zero victories going into Sunday’s game against Green Bay at NRG Stadium.
There are 13 teams with at least
four victories, including six that have won five games.
Among those six teams with five victories, Andy Reid (Chiefs) and Mike Nagy (Bears) are the only head coaches with offensive backgrounds. Vrabel, Pete Carroll (Seahawks) and Mike Tomlin (Steelers) were defensive specialists. John Harbaugh (Ravens) was a special teams coordinator.
Now, looking at the seven teams with four victories, Matt LaFleur (Packers), Frank Reich (Colts), Bruce Arians (Buccaneers), Sean McVay (Rams), Kliff Kingsbury (Cardinals) and Kevin Stefanski (Browns) were offensive coaches.
Only Sean McDermott (Bills) was a defensive coach.
That’s eight former offensive coaches, four defensive coaches and one from special teams on that list of 13 teams that have won at least four games.
What conclusions can we draw from this? Only that it’s important to make the correct decision, and it shouldn’t matter
which side of the ball the head coach comes from. McNair doesn’t need a search firm to confirm that.
If I’m McNair, I’ll add to my list of candidates defensive coordinators like Todd Bowles (Bucs), Wink Martindale (Ravens), Robert Saleh (49ers) and Matt Eberflus (Colts), among others.
And I certainly wouldn’t hold it against Bowles that he was 24-40 as the Jets’ head coach. Carroll was fired twice as a head coach in the NFL before settling in with the Seahawks.
No matter who the Texans hire to replace O’Brien, if he’s an offensive coordinator, he’s got to hire a defensive coordinator who will have to rebuild his side of the ball.
The Texans’ next defensive coordinator is going to have his hands full from the get-go. Most of the needs are on defense. The Texans don’t have first- and second-round picks, but they do have eight draft choices. The new general manager can make personnel decisions that’ll clear enough room under the salary cap to add two or three defensive players.
Sunday’s game at Tennessee was the most recent example of how painful it is to watch this defense — a performance that wasted three huge plays.
The Texans got a strip sack from J.J. Watt and a Bradley Roby interception they turned into touchdowns. Justin Reid blocked a field goal that set up another touchdown.
But the big story wasn’t the big plays by the defense and special teams — it was how Tannehill and Henry moved the Titans’ offense for game-tying and game-winning drives on their last two possessions and made it look easy doing it.
With Aaron Rodgers and the Packers coming to town, the Texans are giving up 30 points and 423 yards a game. Their run defense that’s surrendering 177.5 yards a game is the league’s worst.
In Anthony Weaver’s first season as coordinator, we expected more from his defense. Through six games, the defenders look confused, like they’re not sure what their responsibilities are. They’re caught out of position too many times. They make too many mental errors.
It’s one thing to get manhandled physically, but it’s embarrassing to look poorly prepared and poorly coached on a regular basis. Weaver and interim coach Romeo Crennel, a defensive specialist with five Super Bowl rings, have to do something — anything — different, because what they’re doing isn’t working.
When players look like they’re thinking too much and not reacting instinctively because they’re not confident in their system, the game plan and their assignments, it’s time for the KISS method: Keep it simple, stupid — see ball, get ball.
Or continue to get embarrassed.