While Texans executive VP Jack Easterby will not become the team’s next GM, recent reports suggest that he will have a significant say in determining who the next head coach will be. And in a comprehensive piece detailing Easterby’s unconventional and sometimes controversial rise through the NFL front office ranks, Jenny Vrentas and Greg Bishop of SI.com suggest that might not necessarily be a good thing.
The article is well-worth a read for any NFL observer, but especially Texans fans. Some of the authors’ sources say that Easterby, who was brought in to improve the club’s culture, has only made it worse, and that he has secured his lofty position within the organization thanks largely to the inordinate amount of sway he has over owner Cal McNair. Indeed, one source said McNair is “blinded” by Easterby, who has also been accused of undermining other key figures — like former head coach Bill O’Brien — and who is said to have been a driving force behind the lopsided DeAndre Hopkins trade (for which O’Brien has shouldered most of the blame).
Of course, Easterby — who declined the authors’ invitation to tell his side of the story — has plenty of supporters as well, and it will be fascinating to see how his role will impact Houston’s HC/GM search and the team’s fortunes moving forward.
Now for more from the Texans:
- If quarterback Deshaun Watson has it his way, the new Texans head coach will retain current offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes. Kelly has been with the organization since 2014 and was elevated to OC last year. Amidst an otherwise difficult 2020 campaign, Watson is enjoying a career year, and he gives his 34-year-old coordinator a great deal of credit for that. We previously heard that McNair would consider Watson’s input with respect to the HC search, so it stands to reason that he would also value his star QB’s opinion on his OC.
- The Hopkins trade, along with assorted injuries and suspensions, have decimated Watson’s WR corps. Randall Cobb has been on IR since late November with a significant toe injury, and according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, surgery is a possibility. Cobb, 30, has an outside chance of returning this year, but with the Texans well out of the playoff picture, it probably makes more sense for him to start preparing for 2021.
- The Texans selected cornerback John Reid in the fourth round of this year’s draft, but even after the Bradley Roby suspension and with Houston already looking ahead to next year, Reid is unlikely to see more defensive snaps, per Wilson. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver confirmed as much, saying that while he believes Reid has a great career ahead of him, he is not quite ready for a larger role. Reid has played just 60 defensive snaps on the season, and 32 of those came in Week 1.
- LB Reggie Gilbert and DL Willie Henry are visiting the Texans, per Wilson. Gilbert and Henry were recently cut by the Jaguars and 49ers, respectively, and Houston will see if they can get anything out of two defenders who at one time showed they might be worthwhile pieces of an NFL roster.
What a mess this organization is.
Cooks has been on par with Hopkins this year. Hopkins just sees more targets
Cooks: 86 targets, 57 catches, 784 yards (13.8 y/c), 3 TDs.
Hopkins: 127 targets 97 catches, 1,155 yards (12.3 y/c), 5 TDs.
The trade was awful, but they’ve been able to replace most of Hopkins production.
They need an overhaul on the oline and defense though.
The Tunsil trade was more catastrophic than the Hopkins trade.
No 1sr or 2nd rounder, again this year. Houston needs to stop trading away future draft picks.
Step 1: bring in wr help for Hopkins via FA.
Allen Robinson would be ideal, but Curtis Samuel and David Moore would be acceptable to pair with Cooks and Cobb next year
Step 2: Fix the defense. dline and secondary via draft.
Step 3: bring in a big bodied running back. Make Gus Edwards an offer or Jamaal Williams. Chris Carson would be interesting but don’t overpay for a RB.
I agree with your rebuilding plan, but not so sure about two of your initial points. I fail to see how Cooks has been “on par” with Hopkins when the latter’s catch rate is 10% higher and has over 30% more receiving yards. Besides, this in spite of the fact that Hopkins is arguably playing with an inferior quarterback. Houston received a second pick and David Johnson for Hopkins. Considering they already surrendered another second rounder for Cooks, they basically replaced Hopkins with DJ and Cooks. Not a good look IMO
My other issue is saying the Tunsil trade was more catastrophic. I agree the trade initially looked awful, but in all honesty, Tunsil has been nothing short of fantastic. He’s a top-tier blindside blocker and I’m not sure how many first rounders could be emulating his production at this stage
Houston brought in Cooks, Cobb, and Johnson
Between the 3 they’ve caught 85 passes, 38 passes (injured), 16 passes (injured)
They been able to replace Hopkins production in the passing game.
The Tunsil trade has left them without their first rounder this year (top 10 pick, possibly top 5).
The main point is they need to stop trading away future picks.
The Watson trade, Osweiler trade, Tunsil trade has left them without a lot of talent via the draft on cheap rookie contract.
When an organization is more or less being “controlled” by a non-football guy like Jack Easterby, your in trouble. It doesn’t matter if the Texans hire someone like a John Dorsey or a Louis Riddick if a guy like Easterby has that much influence with the owner and can overrule a GM’s decisions.
So, which unnamed source do we believe? The complimentary one, or the other?
This story seems plausible, but there is a wide gap between “seems plausible” and “is accurate”. In any case, rumor and gossip hardly change the quagmire the Texans currently are in, and certainly do not contribute to a solution. Houston is without significant draft capitol and is attached to several aging and/or injury prone skill position players.
If Easterby does indeed have a big say in the ongoings of the organization, and the coach he is supposed to pick ends up flaming out, he’ll be held responsible in an official capacity rather than a rumored one. Until then, Houston needs to focus on real and tangible ways to acquire talent on both sides of the ball.
I do also want to say, as an addendum, that the article in SI is exceptionally shoddy and reliant on both assumption and unnamed sources. It reads more like a story with sourced quotes interjected here and there to break up the writers’ own narrative. I really have no reason to defend Easterby or the Texans, but that doesn’t mean that I’m willing to believe sensationalist or gossip-y sports journalism either. These types of stories are rarely representative of the total truth and mostly serve as a vehicle for unscrupulous writers to piggy-back off someone else’s dysfunction for their own professional gain.