As Texans GM, Gaine eyes ‘championship-caliber’ play
Detailed. Focused. Driven. If the Brian Gaine era eventually resembles his debut press conference, the Texans’ new general manager might actually lift Bob McNair’s franchise to the next stage of NFL life.
There is a lot of work to be done on Kirby Drive. Emphasis on a lot. The man who will follow Rick Smith in the book of Texans history sounded Wednesday like the football-aholic the organization has long needed.
Heck, had the sidewalks leading into NRG Stadium been iced, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see the New York native shoveling away,
chopping up the frozen paths, and clearing the way toward something warmer, brighter … and more victorious.
“If we’re going to ask the coaches and the players to reach levels of a first-class performance, then that’s going to be asked of the rest of the operation as well. So that’s my task … to make sure that we’re a first-class operation, football operation,” said Gaine, sitting behind a table that now belonged to him. “Not just on the team and not with the types of players that we bring in but also within the football operation.” Well said, new GM. Some of you, understandably, are going to want instant answers about Gaine. What his hire means for the football team you love to love/hate. How this crazy new “alignment” thing with Bill O’Brien is really going to work out.
I must admit that’s humanly impossible right now.
It’s going to take months to get an initial feel for Gaine’s work and personal system, then years to properly evaluate the man replacing Smith, who was given 12 way-too-long years in the pursuit of something more than mediocrity. Pragmatic demeanor
I can tell you this, though. Gaine didn’t say anything he’s going to regret Wednesday, nor did he issue any immediate lofty promises he won’t be able to keep.
“How are we going to improve the roster to create a championship-caliber performance on Sundays?” said Gaine, smartly avoiding any mention of the Texans competing for a Super Bowl title in the immediate future.
While the entire 2018 NFL calendar will soon be turned into a lengthy checklist of things the new guy either nailed or failed at — it can be a thankless and trying job unless you win a couple playoff games every year; just ask Smith — there was promise in Gaine’s initial chat with the friendly locals who love to ask questions.
Smith always alternated between smooth and slick, and that was one of the many issues that tripped him up in the end.
Gaine was thorough, pragmatic and blue collarish.
He wasn’t running for mayor or constantly trying to assure you that everything was going to be OK on Kirby if you just stopped worrying and asking questions about the Texans.
He answered a query about Deshaun Watson’s woeful offensive line with a reply that actually made real-world sense.
“When you have a quarterback in place that you believe in, that you think can help you win a lot of football games, you’ve got to start to put pieces around him and pieces in place to help him succeed on the field,” Gaine said. “That’s not just with the perimeter players and the skill players — that’ll be with the offensive line. So it’s certainly an area that we’re going to evaluate heavily here as I get my feet wet here in the operation, knowing what we have and then studying what’s going to be available to us in the free-agent market first and, obviously, with the draft right around the corner.”
The new GM also mentioned the fifth-year coach’s name 13 times, which obviously isn’t going to erase the theory that one of the main reasons Gaine suddenly has this job is because O’Brien wanted him to.
You know what? No one’s going to care if, under Gaine, the Texans win like they never have before. AFC South on the rise
Jacksonville is in the AFC Championship Game. Tennessee fought back to beat Kansas City on the road, then fired its coach when a single wild-card victory wasn’t good enough. Indianapolis is on the verge of hiring Josh McDaniels as it waits on quarterback Andrew Luck’s return.
The Texans must return to the top of the rising AFC South, then figure out how to somehow be better than Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, then win the big game they’ve never even come close to before.
Four days after he was hired, the Texans’ to-do list is already piling up for Gaine.
If he gets the next part right, he just might end up being better than the last guy.
“It’s clear that we have to put some players around (Watson) to help him succeed,” the new GM said.
Now it’s on Gaine to do the job right.