PICKING UP PIECES
Franchise has Watson but faces questions in post-O’Brien era
Bill O’Brien gambled and lost on controversial trades, burning through draft capital with a scorched-earth, win-now mentality.
As the ultra-demanding boss of the Texans, O’Brien unloaded players like Jadeveon Clowney and De Andre Hopkins and traded away first-round draft picks. He created the highest payroll in the NFL this season with $249million in cash spending and led a stressful, fear-driven work environment that lacked much in theway of fun.
Instead of emerging as the Super Bowl contender they envisioned after winning two consecutive AFC South division titles, the last-place, winless Texans are in crisis mode as they host the Jaguars on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
In the wake of chairman Cal McNair having seen and heard enough and firing O’Brien from his jobs as headcoach and general manager following an 0-4 start, the Texans have skidded far away from their intended destination. They’re in desperate need of new leadership and a major GPS course correction.
As attractive as the two vacancies are because of the dynamic presence of franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson, the jobs will require a ton of heavy lifting. The Texans need fresh eyes to evaluate a roster with a lot of obvious holes as well as a well-crafted plan to undo the damage wrought by O’Brien since he won a power struggle over general manager Rick Smith in 2017 and the abrupt ouster of successor Brian Gaine last year.
O’Brien was fired Monday after a series of explosive arguments with players, including threetime NFL Defensive Player of the Year J. J. Watt, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, medical personnel and other staffers, according to people with knowledge of the incidents.
“Bill O’Brien is going to be the gift that keeps on giving, because ending his tenure by firing him doesn’t undo what he already did,” an NFL executive said. “What he did with that roster will have serious ramifications for years to come. It’s why getting him out of the building now because of all of the fighting and the losing makes sure that this guy doesn’t do any more damage to the franchise.”
The Texans have no first-round or second-round draft picks in 2021 because of their trade with Miami for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, whom the Texans made the highest-paid offensive lineman in the league, and wide receiver Kenny Stills.
They have a lot of difficult decisions to make about their roster after elite-market deals for Watson (four years, $156 million), Tunsil (three years, $66 million) and inside linebacker Zach Cunningham (four years, $58 million.) They’re currently projected to be $15 million over the NFL salarycap limit of $175 million in 2021, which is fluid depending on how much revenue the league loses during a season and economy affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Texans have a lot of months to thoroughly evaluate the roster and get a lot of feedback internally and externally to understand why they’re in this unenviable situation.
“I think they need to do an autopsy of what went wrong,” said former Jets and Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum, an ESPN analyst. “They have a great young quarterback, which makes this an attractive job. They should take this opportunity to do a detailed process and look at things organizationally to have the best mechanism in place to have sustainability.
“You’re looking to build something long-term that works. It shouldn’t be focused on one year. It’s about finding the right leaders.”
Promising candidates
With Watson, 25, as the foundation, the goals are to build a roster and a system around him to achieve sustained success. The reality is the Texans have to figure out how to address multiple issues beyond Watson, including a moribund running game, wide receivers with expiring deals, an offensive line that struggles to keep Watson standing and a vulnerable defense ranked last in the NFL at stopping the run.
“With Deshaun Watson, they’ve got the franchise quarterback everyone is striving for, a Super Bowl-caliber, winning quarterback, so that’s the most attractive part of the job,” said former Giants vice president Marc Ross, an NFL Network analyst. “There’s still a lot of work for the new GM because of the lack of draft picks and the salary-cap situation. That could get get worse as Deshaun’s cap figures go up.
“Those are huge negatives and a ton of work for the new general manager. That’s a little concerning, but it’s all about Deshaun and making sure that you build an offense and a team to have him thrive.”
The Texans have time on their side to fill the coach and general manager jobs and no shortage of promising candidates.
They plan to use an executive search firm — perhaps Korn-Ferry, which helped lead them to O’Brien in 2014 as he left Penn State — and lean on interim GM Jack Easterby, a former Patriots character coach and Chiefs team chaplain who is under contract for several more years. Easterby is slated to return to his previous title of executive vice president of football operations once the Texans hire a new general manager, which they plan to do before hiring a head coach.
Easterby has risen fast in the organization and has grown close to McNair.
“My time with Jack in New England and here has been nothing but amazing,” wide receiver Brandin Cooks said. “That’s a guy that I think is going to be great moving forward, whatever that looks like.”
Coaching candidates include Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale, Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, Watson’s college coach who has strong ties to Easterby.
“A lot of teams have been burned by looking for someone who’s good at coaching the offense or the defense,” Ross said. “I’ve been around Tom Coughlin and Andy Reid. The great coaches around the league have to be leaders of men and get the respect of the team all day and every day.
“If you have the bonus quality of being an offensive genius, then Eric Bieniemy is that guy who encompasses it all. I had himmy last year in Philadelphia when he was still playing in the NFL. Even though he was on his last legs as a running back, you could see the respect and the aura around him. He should be the No. 1 guy on the Texans’ list, in my opinion.”
Among the general manager candidates: Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, whom the Texans briefly incurred a tampering charge for pursuing him after firing Gaine last year, Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds, Chiefs executives Mike Borgonzi, Ryan Poles and Chris Shea, Seahawks vicepresidents Scott Fitterer and Trent Kirchner, Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz, Bills executives Joe Schoen and Dan Morgan, Dolphins assistant GM Marvin Allen, 49ers vice president of player personnel Adam Peters, Saints assistant GM Terry Fontenot, Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay, Patriots consultant Eliot Wolf and, if he’s fired, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff.
“I think Terry Fontenot is really sharp and is a guy to keep your eye on,” Ross said. “With Hortiz, all of those Baltimore guys have gotten a lot of love. Joe is a solid name and well-respected. Dodds is a hot name. They’re building it the right way in Indianapolis with him and Chr is Ballard. What tends to happen with the GM head coach is it could be a package deal. There are a lot of good, bright people the Texans can hire.”
A harsh style
Under O’Brien, the Texans had an autocratic style which didn’t encourage a lot of dissent, according to multiple sources. When O’Brien saw things differently and was challenged in the building, he would lose his temper. Invariably, it wasn’t long before the individuals who disagreed with him were fired.
As a coach and general manager who seized back play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Tim Kelly for his final game last Sunday in a loss to the previously winless Vikings, O’Brien wielded a lot of unchecked power.
“It can be detrimental to a team if everyone has the same philosophy,” Ross said. “As coach and general manager, O’Brien has one brain. You don’t have true checks and balances if you hire people and they all think the same. When I worked with Tom Coughlin and (former Giants GM) Jerry Reese, they were two completely different people (who) thought differently and that led to healthy debates.
“When you have a yes-man situation, if everyone has a group think and aren’t strong enough to challenge each other respectfully, then it’s not going towork theway it’s supposed to.”
Besides the critical component of leadership, several pressing roster and financial decisions await the new general manager and head coach.
An All-Pro selection back in 2016, David Johnson, acquired in the Hopkins trade, is rushing for just 3.9 yards per carry. He’s due a $7.95 million base salary with $2.1 million guaranteed in 2021 and has a $9million salary-cap figure. They could cut him and save $6.9 million against the cap.
Cooks has no more guaranteed money in his deal after this year. He’s due $12 million base salaries in 2021 and 2022 and $12.5 million in 2023. Acquired for a secondround pick from the Rams to try to fill the void made by trading Hopkins following a contract dispute and a deteriorating relationship with O’Brien, Cooks has yet to catch a touchdown on10 receptions and 21 targets.
“Deshaun got used to a guy with a big catch radius in Hopkins,” an NFL executive said. “Cooks has a much smaller body and catch radius.”
Meanwhile, fellow wide receivers Will Fuller’s and Stills’ contracts expire after this year.
The Texans will also face a decision on inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney, who has struggled at times this season, especially in pass coverage, and has seven missed tackles. McKinney has a $7 million base salary and an $8.5 million salary-cap figure in 2021.
“I would move on from McKinney or restructure his deal,” an NFL executive said. “The game is played in space today and you’ve got to have athletes on the field. McKinney is more of an oldschool inside linebacker.”
By not re-signing versatile nose tackle D. J. Reader when he was willing to sign a new deal for $10 million per year during contract talks prior to last season, the Texans lost him in free agency to the Bengals via a three-year, $53 million deal. Instead, they signed outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus to a four-year, $54 million deal and the veteran pass rusher has just two sacks and seven tackles through four games after recording 7½ sacks last season.
Watt, 31, is due a nonguaranteed $17.5 million base salary in 2021, the final year of his contract. He has two sacks and five quarterback hits. It would be extremely unpopular to trade a future Hall of Fame selection and the most successful player in franchise history.
“J. J. might be their best trade bait,” an NFL executive said. “For a team that lacks draft picks, if someone floored you with a great offer, you’d have to seriously listen. The biggest issue, I believe, is that the Texans misjudged their own talent.
“They’re not as good as they thought they were, especially the offensive line. I like Tunsil, but he’s not a Trent Williams in his prime or a Tyron Smith. They got desperate because they didn’t have a left tackle, so they used a ton of picks to get him and gave this guy a ton of money. They’re paying the price for so many mistakes.”
Whomever the Texans ultimately hire and however they choose to operate going forward, there’s a lot of work to be done. It isn’t an insurmountable task, though.
“The salary cap can always be manipulated,” Ross said. “The lack of draft capital situation is the tough part and some players may not deserve to be paid asmuch as they are. The Texans have a lot of time to get things going in the right direction, but they have a lot of work to do to get there.”