The Houston Texans Are Falling Apart
Houston, we have a problem. Actually, better make that several problems. In fact, the whole system is imploding and it doesn't look like we'll have many survivors.
Currently, the Houston Texans are unraveling at the seams with Adam Schefter dropping two bombshell reports 12 minutes apart that signal a franchise in complete disarray with no rudder to right its trajectory. More succinctly, it doesn't look like there's a man, woman or child who wants to grab the rudder at all.
One league source connected to the Texans' HC situation said Saturday: "It's gone from the least desirable head coaching job (opening) to the most undesirable head coaching job in the NFL. That's a fact. That's how that job is now looked at by everybody."
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 17, 2021
Even worse than the Texans blowing their head coach search, and a big part of the reason that job is so undesirable right now, there's a growing belief within the franchise that star quarterback Deshaun Watson has played his final down for the team.
There is a growing sense from people in and around the Texans’ organization that Deshaun Watson has played his last snap for the team. It’s early in the off-season, there’s a lot of time left, but Watson’s feelings cannot and should not be underestimated.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 17, 2021
That is a complete and utter disaster.
Coming into this offseason, we already knew Texans legend J.J. Watt wanted out of Houston. Watt said as much without saying as much in his season-ending press conference. But then news dropped that Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler, was discontent with the direction of the franchise and likewise was interested in a change of scenery. Then franchise legend, and one of the most respected former players in football, Andre Johnson broke a year-long Twitter silence to rip the team and the oddly-influential Jack Easterby. Then Deshaun Watson tweeted his level of anger was a 10 and the whole thing fell apart.
For a team clearly in the midst of a rebuilding effort, player dissatisfaction is normal. What's not normal is not being able to find a coach interested in a head coaching job. There are only 32 of them in the world and about a million people who would cut their right pinkie off for the job. Hell, even the Browns found coaches during their decades of futility. But the combination of Watson's unhappiness and Easterby's continued input in the direction of the franchise has apparently made this opening about as enticing as a poopy flavored lollypop.
What's next for this floundering franchise is anyone's guess. They Texans will likely trade Watson for a king's ransom and start over with a rookie quarterback and rookie head coach leading the franchise into the great unknown. But for a team that was one win away from the AFC Championship just a year ago, this is a precipitous fall no one saw coming.