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Who do you want next at HC and GM?

ET80

By ET80
in Houston Texans

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Apollo Stallion

Apollo Stallion

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5 hours ago, jch1911 said:

it looks like AA is right

https://whodatdish.com/2017/11/21/extending-jeff-ireland-means-saints/

 

Whelp - THIS is why Rick Smith should have been fired weeks ago.  Teams are either hiring or locking up the top candidates.  Fully convinced he isn't going anywhere.  If anything, the sudden surge of players defending O'Brien (Savage weighed in today) says that there are player concerns about him being around next year which is likely a vibe going thru the building.  Remember, coaches/GMs almost never go into a final contract year without an extension, so it's pretty interesting timing as you either let him go now or you are committing 4 more years.  Rick's 3rd contract runs thru 2020 which means he'd likely be due for an extension after next season (funny how the .  My bet is that we are at "he goes or I go" territory for both and sadly, Smith will win that power battle again. 

I still maintain Smith's lack of activity this offseason and tanking the o-line and secondary were intentional passive aggressive plays as another playoff run and O'Brien HAS to come back and then has a contract extending 4 years past him AND leverage. Rick's Draft even supports it as this was a playoff team that needed players to just get over the hump and almost all of Smith's picks were developmental types who's impact was built for 2018 success (with a new coach), not 2017.  Watson was supposed to just learn behind Savage, Cunningham was to sit behind Cushing, Foreman to sit behind Miller, Davenport was a project when we needed an instant starter, Watkins sits behind Reader, Decoud hasn't played, Fuller hasn't played. Sure contributions are expected increase from year 1 to 2 from any draft class, but compare it to a class like New Orleans and you see one built for success today vs. ours which seems like just a bridge to tomorrow.  Remember, we go into next year with top 10 most cap space, so Rick gets to spend willy nilly this offseason for a new coach and peak in 2019, so he can get contract #4. 

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Apollo Stallion

Apollo Stallion

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49 minutes ago, Longhorns90 said:

Bill Barnwell, at the least, seems to think that if it opens up, it's the most attractive spot in the league: http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21759278/ranking-best-nfl-potential-head-coach-openings-2018

 

That said, I don't know how working with Rick Smith could possibly be attractive at this point...

Yep, he kinda lost me at "Their biggest weakness is on special teams, which would be fixable by swapping out the specialists and focusing mid-round picks for a year or two on improving their coverage" and including Kareem Jackson alongside Whitney Mercilus as our "second tier" talent behind the superstars.  It's like he just cut and paste from last year as rebuilding a secondary, TE and 4/5 oline spots with 3rd round picks and a GM who can only pick chalk first rounders isn't a small thing.   I don't disagree that the Texans gig wouldn't be amongst the most attractive gigs as there is plenty of talent at the top and ownership is attractive because they are so tolerant of mediocrity job security is solid as long as you play nice with others.  On the flipside, the Texans are perpetually in "expansion team" mode where we are always "building" and the lack of pressure from the fanbase or press corp comes from having no history or national exposure.  There is no planet where the Texans gig is more prized than the Giants or Broncos where you walk past Lombardi's on the way into the building and dysfunction and all the Redskins gig will always be a high profile one with the tradition and attention the NFC East draws.

The way I see it, the low profile of the Texans and presence of Rick Smith as apparent "GM for life" will always be an impediment to the top of the food chain coaches who want both power and prestige.  We can run a never ending chain of coaches just happy to get their shot  (Eagles Frank Reich makes sense) through here and it will top out at some low end division banners as for me, championship teams require coaches and GM that share a common vision and trust while maintaining a separation of powers.  For me the ideal would be something like a McDaniels / Casiero (Pats Pro Personnel) pairing which allows us to continue on the road to becoming Pats South, but with major upgrades at head coach and GM and get those roles rowing the same direction.  We could likely keep Vrabel who like it or not is a HC in waiting and probably gets the gig if O'Brien taps out. 

BTW - If you really think fixing "problem #1" gets us to a Super Bowl, you just hire KC Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub (John Harbaugh went from SC to HC) and get a high end OC.  Eagles QB coach John Defilippo would fit the young hire trend (39) this will sweep after the McVay hiring and clearly did good work with Wentz (but so did O'Brien w/ Watson).

If I were a betting man and it's strictly a coaching hire, my bet would be Vrabel or a retread like Pat Shurmur (Minny OC) or Mike Munchak (Pitt O-Line) because safe and boring fits our mold. 

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amazingandre

amazingandre

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Josh McDaniels is the simplest solution and probably the safest. Not sure I love it. 

As weird as it sounds, hiring a ST coach as HC isn't a bad idea. I am tired of coaches meddling in offense or defense instead of focusing the entire team. The most successful teams have head coaches who give up play calling and don't feel forced to take over when times get tough. Hiring a ST coach all but guarantees that from happening. We would obviously have to find a legit OC and DC and the turnover rate might be higher especially after 2 years of success for them. 

I do like Reich from Philly and Wilks from Carolina. 

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amazingandre

amazingandre

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My updated list of HC candidates that I would bring in for an interview if I had the power.

Josh McDaniels - This would be his second stint as a HC and hopefully he learned a few things from his last gig. I do get leery of someone who has built their success on the back of Tom Brady, none of them seem to pan out, but McDaniels has proven countless times that his offense is creative and can adapt to his specific players. Something we sorely need right now. I do not love this hire, but it would make a lot of sense.

Frank Reich - Currently the Eagles OC. He has helped Wentz become a top QB in a short period of time and the Eagles offense has been very dangerous with him as OC. He followed Whisenhunt around for a bit but didn't last anywhere very long (mainly because Whisenhunt didn't last very long). His background is very scattered and he doesn't have a long line of great success, but there is no denying what he has done the past 2 years in Philly as their OC. 

Pete Carmichael Jr - The Saints OC and  Sean Payton's right-hand man. He came onto the scene in SD under Marty S. from 2002-2005. He went to NOLA with Brees and Payton and has helped make them an offensive juggernaut. He first started calling plays in 2011 and through 2012 (both explosive offensive years and record-setting). Payton took over duties when he returned from suspension in 2013, but in 2016 he handed them back over to Carmichael who is still the play-caller for the very explosive and high scoring offense. I attribute there most recent success and ability to run and pass as a credit to Carmichael. Payton always seemed to abandon the run, but Pete seems to remain balanced and focus on creating a well-oiled offense. The guy has been with Brees for basically forever, so he can obviously coach QBs.

Steve Wilks - The Panthers current DC. The guy has been great at coaching secondary players and recently took over DC when McDermott left to become HC. He has made the Panthers much more aggressive and more creative even with the loss (limited play time) from key defensive stars. I do get nervous because he has followed Rivera around and Rivera is a defensive guy, so how much success is from Rivera being there, but there is no doubting his own style of defense. Wilks has those guys playing great and it is very successful defense. The question is, do we want a defensive HC or a young offensive one. I am not sure yet. (Wish we would have hired Zimmer when we had the chance)

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amazingandre

amazingandre

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Some guys I would interview for GM

Scott Pioli - I love the team he built in Kansas City (one of the most pro bowlers drafted in the NFl during his tenure in KC) and he obviously made impressive moves to help the early Patriots win 3 super bowls. If we kept OB, Pioli would make some sense here because they were on the Patriots at the same time. The things I hate about Pioli are obviously his weird work environment that created a ton of turmoil in KC and his terrible choices as coaches while GM for KC. There is no denying his ability to locate talented players, but can he manage the coaching staff?

Joe Douglas - Currently with Philly, but this guy was a vital part of the Ravens success in the 2000s. He was the scout who oversaw the region that produced Flacco and Rice, then was promoted to the National Scout for Baltimore where he helped them create a very talented team and organized and coordinated the undrafted free-agent signings, which has been very good for Baltimore. It's hard to say how the Bears 2016 and the Eagles 207 drafts will turn out, but he is highly regarded as a talent evaluator. He is a little green on the leading a team aspect, but his ability to find talent has been highly admired. 

George Paton - Assistant GM in Minnesota. The guy started out in the 90s with Chicago and helped paved the way for successful drafts as the draft and pro scouting director. He had a stint in Miami then went to Minnesota where he has helped build a very good football team. He has followed Spielman around and I don't love guys who follow others around because it is very hard to decipher how much is their success. He seems to be a talented player evaluator, but can he lead a team and pick good coaches?

 

 

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TitanLegend

TitanLegend

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On 12/25/2017 at 9:41 PM, Pastor Dillon said:

I’m all for Mcdaniels. He won with Tebow, he can win with Watson. 

Not sure how or why so many people believe McDaniels won with Tebow. McDaniels went 5-17 after starting 6-0 in Denver(That 6-0 start was with Kyle Orton), and Tebow never started a game with McDaniels at HC as he was fired before Tebow started in 2010.

John Fox is the guy who "won with Tebow".

McDaniels is a joke who has 0 success to speak of without Brady and Belichick carrying him. Would be a massive downgrade from BoB, IMO, and I don't even like BoB that much.

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