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While the paint is still drying on interim head coach Romeo Crennel’s first win as the new leader of the Houston Texans football club, Texans owner Cal McNair is taking steps to ensure he puts a solid general manager and head coach in place to lead this team forward once the 2020 season is over. Adam Schefter broke the news a few days ago.
Texans CEO Cal McNair has hired Jed Hughes, the vice chairman for the search firm Korn Ferry, to help the franchise hire its next general manager and head coach, per sources.https://t.co/tvKHGbfhXk
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 11, 2020
Cal McNair:
We’ll cast a broad net and look at all of our options and try to find just the right guys that are really going to work hard together, be smart, be dedicated, and bring championships to Houston.
Bringing in a guy who was part of the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the 70s and 80s certainly seems like a step in the right direction. Former Steelers head coach and Hall of Famer (one of the few with four Super Bowl rings) Chuck Noll knew how to build a team from the ground up. That DNA ran through nearly everyone who came from Noll’s coaching tree.
Playing the pros/cons game, Korn Ferry is the firm that brought Bill O’Brien to Houston. However, they also matched Andy Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs. Imagine if Reid had come to H-Town and O’Brien had gone to KC...
With a list of early head coaching candidates already hitting the internet and fans voicing their desires for someone like Kansas City’s Eric Bieniemy, it’ll be interesting to watch who Jed Hughes and Cal McNair tab to sit in the general manager chair - and how that person will inform the head coaching decision.
It’s also a big relief that Jack Easterby won’t just usurp the role entirely due to his proximity to the office. Not to say Easterby wouldn’t do a fine job, but the influence he reportedly had in O’Brien’s decisions doesn’t leave anyone with the warm and fuzzies that he’s the right guy for the GM position. Whomever comes in will have an uphill battle at the start, but players like Deshaun Watson, J.J. Watt, Justin Reid, Will Fuller, Laremy Tunsil and Brandin Cooks form a dynamic base to build upon going forward. With the right GM and right HC, this team could turn around quickly despite the lack of early draft picks in 2021.
Who would you like to see Houston tab for general manager? Guys like the Indianapolis Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds, KC’s Director of Football Operations Mike Borgonzi, New England Patriots’ now infamous Nick Caserio? How about bringing back Rick Smith? Let us know your thoughts below.