The Houston Texans are right in the middle, and that is a good place to be given most happenings throughout the franchise since 2020.
According to Sam Monson from Pro Football Focus, the Texans are ranked No. 3 on their evaluation of the five coaching vacancies across the NFL.
Any new coach signing on to the Texans project needs to be convinced of the stability of what’s already in place. Like Indianapolis, Houston doesn’t have a quarterback but is positioned to draft one. The franchise is much further behind when it comes to the overall quality of the roster, and there were very unexpected rumors that general manager Nick Caserio’s job was not safe after the regular season, putting him firmly on the hot seat heading into next year.
The last thing any new head coach wants is his general manager getting fired one year into his tenure — whether or not he gets fired along with him — because it just blows up everything that was being built.
There are a few pieces in place, such as elite left tackle Laremy Tunsil, but the Texans need to improve the talent level of the roster with several significant moves for this team to be competitive. They are the furthest away from competitiveness of any of the available jobs, so long-term security is key to this opening’s attractiveness.
What wasn’t factored into the Texans’ situation is the club will be tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for a league-high 12 picks in the 2023 NFL draft. The Texans will have enough capital, particularly with their twin first-round picks, to take quality players right where they are picking, or building packages to take targeted players who can help the roster immediately.
Caserio knows that 2023 is when he has to show the cards.
“If I don’t do my job well enough, and quite frankly, some probably think I haven’t done my job well enough at this point, and that’s more than fair,” Caserio told reporters Jan. 9. “At some point decisions will have to be made, and the only thing I can do is make a commitment to our building, to our ownership group, to our team, to our organization that we’re going to do everything we can to try to come up with a better result.”
