The Houston Texans fan base was left confused on Wednesday with the reported rumors of starting quarterback Davis Mills being replaced by backup Kyle Allen. Some sports media members spoke about having sources who have confirmed the move. At the same time, coach Lovie Smith and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton vehemently repeated that no such change had occurred.
Smith finally announced on Friday that Allen had replaced Mills.
The constant state of disarray and bewilderment has been a staple in the franchise since Houston was in pursuit and ultimately hired Nick Caserio as general manager.
Before the Texans secured Caserio in 2021, they had tampering charges filed against them by his former team, the New England Patriots. The allegations stemmed from when former Texans executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby attended the Patriots Super Bowl ring ceremony and was seen talking extensively to Caserio. The very next day, Houston fired current general manager Brian Gaine.
After being in multiple positions with the Patriots, Caserio was finally given his chance at running a franchise. Having worked under Bill Belichick, who led New England to numerous Super Bowl victories, Caserio seemed qualified enough to help lead the Texans back to the playoffs after a dismal 4-12 season.
His football IQ and calm demeanor made him the perfect candidate to handle some of the issues Houston was facing. Two of their biggest stars, defensive end J.J. Watt and quarterback Deshaun Watson were disgruntled and no longer wanted to be a part of the franchise moving forward.
Watt, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year Award recipient, would eventually receive his release from the Texans and sign with the Arizona Cardinals. At the same time, Watson was ultimately traded to the Cleveland Browns.
Caserio has made some head-scratching decisions in his position and is just as responsible for Houston’s 1-8-1 record this season as Lovie Smith, Pep Hamilton, and Davis Mills. If you add the record from the 2021 season, the Texans are a combined 5-20-1 under his watch.
“Maybe you’ve heard this before, but it’s going to be brick by brick,” said Cal McNair during the introductory press conference for Caserio. “We’re going to pick up a brick, put it down, put it down in the right place, put the mortar around it, make sure it’s set, make a great decision. Then we’re going to go to the next one, and it’s going to be day by day, making great decisions, getting this thing exactly where we want it, knowing that we’re not far off from where we were.”
“I’ll tell you, it’s a great day to be a Texan because this is a big break. This guy sitting next to me, Nick Caserio, has extreme competency, and we’ll work together, we’ll cooperate, we’ll collaborate, cooperate, and that will get us the fastest to where we want to get to be is by doing all that. Before you know it, you’ll look back and we’ll have built a substantial brick wall that we are all committed and proud of.”
Mr. McNair must still be waiting on the bricks to get to Houston because, as of now, it looks like the wall the Texans are building under Caserio is made out of loose rocks.
It was Caserio who made former longtime NFL assistant coach David Culley head coach in 2021. He bypassed a lot of great candidates and decided that the guy he had great conversations with at the scouting combines was equipped to be a decision-maker on the sidelines.
Maybe under the right circumstances, Culley could have had a successful tenure with the Texans, but given the conditions, he was doomed from the start.
Once again, the Texans were left looking for a head coach to help get the team back on track and produce a winning product on the field, but right on cue, the process was a disaster. One candidate filed racial discrimination lawsuits against the NFL, while the other received backlash from the fans and media for his lack of coaching experience.
Caserio eventually added the head coaching title to defensive coordinator Lovie Smith’s name, and the results have been worse than what they were with Culley. Although they have been competitive throughout the season, Houston does not look like a team that will be ready to contend for another three years. That will include a new head coach if Caserio sticks to his blueprint of firing an unsuccessful head coach after year one.
The 2022 draft class looks promising and are on pace to become the building blocks in their respective positions, but the Texans lack so much talent in other areas that it will take at least two more of those type of drafts to make Houston successful again.
Looking at the Texans franchise today, it is in just as much disarray as it was when Caserio walked through the door two years ago. Suppose he cannot bring in the right head coach to go along with the right offensive coordinator; that must work well with a potential franchise quarterback.
It will look the same way as he exits NRG Stadium with his belongings.
