Houston Texans Head Coaching News: Texans To Interview Jim Caldwell

The rumor mill has been buzzing for a few weeks regarding the Texans’ general manager and head coaching search. So far all we know is the Texans would like to hire a general manager first, that they have put together a strike force to search for candidates for both these positions, and they’ve talked to a couple of different people. No specific interviews had been confirmed as official by the organization. Until now.

This afternoon, the Texans announced they have interviewed former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell about their vacancy there.

In case you forgot, Caldwell led Indianapolis during two seasons they emplolyed Peyton Manning, going 24-8 during that time and losing to the Saints in a Super Bowl. Caldwell was fired for going 2-14 without Peyton Manning in 2011; yes, the Texans still lost in Indy that year. After that, Caldwell moved to the Ravens, where he played a big part of Joe Flacco looking like Joe Montana during a Super Bowl run. That success made him an attractive head coaching candidate again; the Lions hired him, and Detroit went 36-28 in four seasons with Caldwell at the helm. In Detroit, his teams never finished worse than 9-7, but went 0-2 in the postseason. The Lions replaced Caldwell with Matt Patricia, and everything fell apart.

As far as candidates for the Texans go, Caldwell is a fine one. He isn’t going to get anyone wet and wild. But he’s competent, has consistently coached good offenses, has been in the league for a while, and could put together a great staff.

At the same time, I get sleepy just thinking about Jim Caldwell. I want to steal a beer truck with Arthur Smith. I want to pick up the largest can of chewing tobacco, put on my finest camo, and learn about the intricacies of the quick passing game with Brian Daboll. I want to go fast with Eric Bieniemy.

Really, this is just a conversation before a formal conversation with a competent head coaching candidate who currently doesn’t have a job and could potentially interview again here or elsewhere during or after the NFL season ends while the coaches currently on postseason teams have to wait to plan their ascension up the NFL ranks.