- 1 day ago
There will be changes, and there will be big decisions to make — but what exactly should those be? ITL debates whether the Texans are truly in a position to start from scratch on offense yet again, or if that would be a step backward instead of forward.
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00:00Off-season is afoot for the Houston Texans.
00:03We're looking at all different sorts of things,
00:05and that was kind of the tone and tenor a little bit of the sit-down
00:09with D'Amico Rines yesterday with the assembled media.
00:12Now, of course, some of it is looking backwards towards the game as always,
00:14but a lot of it started asking questions that probe towards the future,
00:18and one of the places that clearly was going to be there was the offense.
00:21The offense clearly was going to be the lesser of the two sides of the football
00:26that you immediately think of.
00:27Defense clearly holding up their end of the bargain.
00:30T.J. Stroud himself specifically, but we've had a lot of conversations about him.
00:34But D'Amico Rines had a few things that were very interesting
00:37and gave us a little insight into his perspective.
00:39And I'd like to start with, first and foremost, this is D'Amico, cut five,
00:42if you don't mind, Fig.
00:43D'Amico Rines was just kind of asked pretty early on
00:46just how he would assess the offense generally.
00:49And this is what he said.
00:50Listen closely because it happens quick.
00:51I think our offense grew.
00:53It didn't start how we wanted it to start.
00:56So I think the guys got better as the season went along.
01:00That's the whole thought.
01:02Like, they got better, which I think objectively true,
01:04but not necessarily like ranting and raving about the offense here, right?
01:07No.
01:08You know, there was first higher season.
01:11Now, one thing you have to do, certainly as the head coach that D'Amico has to do,
01:16is step back and gauge the entirety of not just how you did,
01:20but where you are as an offense as it fits with your quarterback.
01:24And that goes without even C.J. Stroud struggling.
01:29You know, let's say he finished fine, but they lost.
01:32You still have to gauge this offense and say,
01:35is it the right fit for our quarterback?
01:39And, you know, I'll put it this way.
01:42There are going to be changes in the offensive room, in the coaching room.
01:48I was under the impression, and trust me, this is me saying it,
01:53and I love the guy to death.
01:56I was under the impression that Gerard Johnson was the easy target here
02:00and probably the most logical target.
02:03Quarterback coach.
02:04Quarterback played poorly.
02:05And quarterback also, a lot of people will say regressed.
02:09At the very least, in these last couple of games,
02:11it was not nearly what you expect from him.
02:13But there could be an argument for an even larger regression.
02:16You go, all right, who is the position coach in charge of making sure,
02:21you know, assuring the quality control of his play?
02:24He'd be the quarterback coach, right?
02:25So, and again, you know, I truly love this guy.
02:31Yeah, thank you.
02:32But I was under the impression, all right, well, Gerard's probably going to go.
02:36Simply because he's not a John Carroll guy.
02:38I'm sorry.
02:39I'm not going to apologize for that.
02:40We know that there are connections, and Nick Casario, you know,
02:43runs a lot of the big decision-making on the offensive side of the ball.
02:47We know that how?
02:47Because of, you know, Gary Szaplinski, obviously kept Cole Popovich, Nick Cayley,
02:57all with either John Carroll and or New England attributes and history.
03:04And Gerard doesn't.
03:04Gerard was kept because, you know, he has a terrific relationship with C.J. Stroud.
03:11And C.J. Stroud absolutely thrived under him his rookie year.
03:16It was huge.
03:17But all that being said, I think he's just the easy target here.
03:20Well, I mean, I think you're right in that he'd be the easy target.
03:24I think there's also argument to be made there, right,
03:26outside of just him being an easy target, no?
03:28As in what?
03:30Right?
03:30I mean, the regression that happens there in the question of—
03:32Oh, yeah.
03:32Okay, yes.
03:33And I'm glad you brought that up because is the—
03:35And then it becomes the question, and that's what my second point was going to be.
03:38The question of if the message gets through.
03:39I think he's the easy target.
03:41I think he'd be the most logical target.
03:43But at the same time, what have we been saying all year?
03:45This offense, from D'Amico's, you know, philosophy and his sort of marching orders
03:52has been, you know, keep it simple.
03:54Run the ball.
03:56Simple passes.
03:58Don't take a lot of chances.
04:00Rely on your defense.
04:01And it absolutely worked.
04:03But is that a quarterback-coach problem, or is that a play-caller problem?
04:08Well, I don't know if this is a specific—
04:09And I'm not trying to defend him because, again, I think he's going to be the guy out, sadly.
04:14But there's a—after listening to D'Amico especially, I was like, ooh, ooh.
04:20Well, another surprisingly quick one here for D'Amico, Ryan, because yesterday, it wasn't
04:25a particular—it wasn't exactly what you're asking there, but the question that he was
04:31to make sure that we are correct here, Figgy, he was asked if he was confident in Nick
04:36Kaley getting better.
04:37Right.
04:38Yeah, with the coaching staff, with our players, you guys asking about contracts, coaches,
04:44players, like, I'm evaluating everything as we go throughout the week.
04:48That's not—that's, again, not like a confirmation or glowing response.
04:52Now, it could easily just be, I'm looking at everything.
04:55But there was other instances where D'Amico Ryan has been a little bit more willing to jump
04:59in and, you know, offer his support or, you know, confidence in various portions of this
05:05team.
05:05That was not one of them.
05:07And that also, again, he said he's open and he's thinking about all—he's considering
05:10all of these aspects.
05:11Is it possible that he fires Nick Kaley, and should he, is the question that I've been
05:16sitting with?
05:17There was zero endorsement of Nick Kaley as the offensive coordinator.
05:22All those questions.
05:23It was a nice, long—you heard it here live on these airwaves.
05:27There was no endorsement of Nick Kaley as offensive coordinator.
05:29So there is that to at least ponder.
05:31And maybe it's as simple as, you know what, I'm just going to, you know, fairly, objectively
05:37evaluate anyone so he couldn't endorse anyone one way or the other.
05:41But—
05:42Which I do appreciate.
05:43I do appreciate that he did not come in with rose-colored glasses or with a slant.
05:47That's our guy.
05:48Right?
05:48He's just going to go in.
05:49I'm going to flatly evaluate this and see what it looks like.
05:52No, there's something to that.
05:53But then you also have to realize—and we'll talk about this a lot—is that the best fit
06:00for C.J. Stroud's skill set?
06:02Is what is, as much as they rely on the defense, is Nick Kaley's approach by order of D'Amico
06:11rest for your quarterback and his skill set?
06:14So maybe that's something that's going to be part of the evaluation and then throw this
06:18into the mix as well.
06:19Look at the teams that played this past weekend.
06:21Look at two of the teams that are in the AFC and NFC championship games.
06:26They have first-year offensive coordinators.
06:29It's not out of the realm of possibility as much as you're like, ah, then he'll have three
06:33offensive coordinators in three years or whatever.
06:35It has been proven to work.
06:38When you get the right match—go back to Jacksonville.
06:42When you get the right play caller for your quarterback, it has been proven to work, no matter
06:48how good your defense is.
06:49But I think—I agree with you on that.
06:52I think, though, that you end up in a little bit of a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't
06:55circumstance here.
06:57Because you would be putting C.J. Stroud in another circumstance to pick up another offense.
07:02And I think that as much as I'm—and I've said this to you—I'm still in on the long-term
07:07potential of C.J. Stroud.
07:08I might be more lonely than I have been in past years or past decades or past—well,
07:14not decades, past days even with that C.J.
07:17Stroud perspective.
07:18However, I think that it would be absurd for me to be able to write off the possibility
07:23that maybe C.J.
07:24Stroud is a little bit slower on the uptick on some of these things.
07:26And that's a possibility where you could still get to positive outcomes, but maybe that's
07:30something we consider, right?
07:31So getting a new offense coordinator, what does that do when it comes to getting himself
07:36into the right perspective?
07:37Like, that change inherently means that there's a possibility for good, but there is also a
07:42possibility for bad.
07:43And I think it is fair to acknowledge that Nick Caley did grow throughout the season.
07:47We have to give him that credit where you saw an offense be able to manufacture a little
07:52bit of the run game here and there.
07:53You saw them find a little bit of equilibrium offensively.
07:56Yeah.
07:57But let me ask you both this.
07:58Go ahead, Figgy.
07:58No, no, I would just, to me, I feel like that's still not enough reason to keep somebody
08:04around.
08:04Sure.
08:05Because you see a lot of head coach, hell, what is it, Raheem, what's his name?
08:10Morris.
08:11Yeah.
08:12Raheem Morris.
08:13Yeah.
08:13He did, I think he won the last few of his games.
08:17And here's the other.
08:18I just don't think that's a reason to keep somebody around.
08:20And here's the other counterpoint.
08:21If they came around.
08:22This is the other counterpoint to what you just said.
08:24What has been the biggest problem with C.J.
08:26Stroud?
08:27Buy-in?
08:28Belief.
08:29Lack of confidence.
08:31So you're running back with Nick Kaley.
08:32Is that going to get better?
08:34But that's, how much of that is a Nick Kaley thing?
08:36And does that matter, I guess, is the question.
08:37Because C.J. Stroud isn't going anywhere.
08:39That's how I look at it.
08:41You got to do whatever you can to get him on track.
08:44Yeah.
08:44That's a fair point to make.
08:46I can hear through the radio a lot of people going, C.J. Stroud isn't, he has fallen out
08:51of the place where you need to make long-term decisions based off of what he would like
08:55or what he would appreciate.
08:57You know what I mean?
08:57Your window is open.
08:59It is.
09:00Your window is open.
09:01And he's here next year and probably the year after that, you know, at minimum.
09:05And I think that this is where we have to step into the portion of the question that is
09:10often a gotcha.
09:11But in the situation here, I think actually is important, which is, well, who else are you
09:14going to get?
09:15Right?
09:15Because I think that that ends up being at times where you go, oh, man, I don't know
09:18that you're sick with this guy.
09:19And people go, well, who else are you going to get?
09:21And oftentimes that's just a, you know, whataboutism to take you away from the part.
09:25I think that that matters here.
09:27Because there is possibility to continue to grow.
09:31How can that?
09:31I'm honestly not very happy with.
09:33I think that they grew this year, but not at a rate that was comfortable enough for me.
09:36However, I think there's still opportunity to grow.
09:38Yes.
09:39But there's also, you also have to be in a place where you know what you're getting on
09:42the other side is better because then you're kind of looking at a little bit where people
09:46are doing slightly revisionist history as far as I'm concerned, but should they have kept
09:50Bobby Slowick, right?
09:51Are they going to do the Bobby Slowick thing again, which is move on from a coordinator for
09:55somebody who maybe isn't inherently better, but just different?
09:58I think you would have to guarantee that if you're moving on from Nick Haley, you're moving
10:01into a place where you get somebody who is absolutely going to be better.
10:04And I can look at maybe around, at least at this juncture, maybe a handful of dudes
10:09that I could say are better off as corners at this moment, but you'd have to be guaranteed
10:13that they would, they would, they would step into this role.
10:15Yeah.
10:16But I think that's something that you just have to go figure out and do.
10:20And that's why you get paid the big bucks because again, it's like, all right, well,
10:25we, you know, Gerard Johnson, let's see if we, the message can, can hit better with
10:29somebody else as the quarterback's coach.
10:31You still have Nick Haley and you still have an offense that has CJ Stroud's brain
10:35scrambled right now.
10:37Yeah.
10:37Yeah.
10:38And like I said, like the run, like everything about the offense to me was bad.
10:42It wasn't like it was just only CJ Stroud, but everything else around was working fine.
10:48And Davis Mills was looking like a elite quarterback type of thing.
10:51It was the whole offense to me.
10:53Yeah.
10:53And there's a lot of people saying, oh, it's the offense that was bad.
10:56Clearly offensive line is going to need to be addressed.
10:58Is that a sufficient to take you to another step with this?
11:01Cause I still have, I don't know that the offensive line is the reason why plays are coming
11:05in late.
11:05I don't know if the offensive line is the reason why you can't, it feels like you can't
11:08get into tempo at times, right?
11:11I think that those are things that clearly are feel like limitations to me and where if
11:16I can guarantee that you give me one of like, I don't know.
11:19And if I feel weird to even bring up this name first, one of like Cliff Kingsbury, obviously
11:23Mike McDaniel is one of those names.
11:25Brian Dable is one that I've had an issue with.
11:27Joe Brady absolutely would be a name that I'd be interested in.
11:29But you have to guarantee that you can get those.
11:33And there's a couple of those that are being considered for head coaching positions, talk
11:36lesson coordinators.
11:37But you'd have, if you could guarantee me one of those, but I think that that ends up in
11:41a place where you might need to hold off for a little bit and do some calling around and
11:45make sure that you get one of those before you moved off of Nick Kaley.
11:48Absolutely.
11:49And I'm sure they will be doing that if they're not doing it already.
11:52The back channels are buzzing right now around the NFL.
11:55All I'm saying is, you know, you run back Nick Kaley and you improve the offensive line
12:01and maybe you, you know, you add a receiver and you get a tight end.
12:05That's all cool, man.
12:07That's going to help.
12:08It's still the same offense.
12:10It's still the same offense.
12:11Well, is there a possibility that it's not exactly the same offense, that you can add more
12:15elements to it by bringing in?
12:16Cause there was a number of times where people during the season were like, bring in Gary
12:19Kubiak as an advisor.
12:20And I thought that particular thing was not something that was viable.
12:24I think Gary Kubiak is done with that, that portion of his career.
12:27But I think in an off season time period, one and two, I think there's, there's an opportunity
12:31for you to maybe add some level of advice, some level of consultant or whatever position
12:36they ultimately need to have that can help Nick Kaley take the foundation that they've
12:40established here and push it further as well.
12:42Yeah.
12:42I think the issue is, and to Reggie's point, like if they did.
12:46Move on from them, from Nick Kaley, I'm not confident, man.
12:52I'm not, they might go with another first year guy that never called plays or was never
12:58a coordinator before.
12:59Well, I'm just, I'm just not really that confident.
13:01They're going to go in the right direction and maybe swing for a Mike Medaniel.
13:05Well, that's, that is all more than fair.
13:08But again, let me just point out.
13:09That's still another reason to keep Nick Kaley, though.
13:11We're going to be watching, we're going to be watching two teams this weekend at first
13:14year coordinators.
13:15Wait, what are, that are, that are coordinators for the first time at their, at their jobs,
13:18at their current jobs.
13:20Who are the two?
13:20Clint Kubiak.
13:21Uh-huh.
13:22And who's the, where's the other one?
13:24Yeah, I was like, cause you got Sean Payton calling plays for the Broncos offensively.
13:27You got the Patriots for Josh McDaniel and then the Rams have Sean McVay calling those
13:31plays.
13:31So you have a one.
13:32Well, but certainly this past weekend, I mean, you had, you know, obviously you had guys,
13:37you know, across the NFL that it's been proven, you know, it's been proven you can do it,
13:41you know?
13:42I mean, it's, it's been proven that you can have that circumstance, but it's also, I
13:47don't want to play scared is what I'm saying.
13:49No, I hear you.
13:49You play scared.
13:51This happens.
13:52Yeah.
13:52I just don't see a reason to run it back.
13:54Yeah.
13:55Like it'd be one thing.
13:56It was like, oh, you seen a lot of flashes.
13:58Yeah.
13:58So we building on something, but I didn't see any of that.
14:02I just don't see a reason why, you know, to pounce on the table for this guy.
14:08And I think that, yeah, I hear you in what you're doing there.
14:11And I just feel like you have to be very careful with the way that you go about that.
14:15Cause we were just talking earlier.
14:16Does it feel like they're as close as it feels?
14:18They, they, they kind of are.
14:20And so change inherently again, you can't change just for the sake of change because at times
14:25that also pulls you backwards in a way that you thought it would pull you from.
14:27Also sticking around could keep it.
14:30I can just running it back.
14:33That could get some people fired.
14:35I can.
14:35So that's fair.
14:36But this, this is why it's going to be a difficult conversation.
14:39This is why D'Amico Ryan's taking a week to evaluate and think about this.
14:42But remember last year we were in a place where we thought he would do one thing, right?
14:46With the, with the time period that he took, we thought, oh man, it's just going to be
14:49Bobby Slocke again.
14:50And we're going to run it back and he actually surprises, surprises a little bit.
14:53It remains to be seen what D'Amico Ryan's comes with when his evaluation of this offense
14:57in general.
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