Houston Texans General Manager Search: Is John Dorsey A Front Runner?

While it’s well known that the Houston Texans’ movers and shakers have some weird crush on former New England Patriots personnel, the team has also spent quite a bit of time and energy cannibalizing the Cleveland Browns. Yes, Houston brass has a crush on the Cleveland Browns.. Yes, the Browns. The other expansion team with fans who wear bags on their heads.

Seeing guys like Duke Johnson Jr. and Darren Fells come to Houston makes it clear the Cleveland Browns have something Houston wants, aside from Cleveland’s current 9-3 record. Now, with Cal McNair hiring search firm Korn Ferry and assembling a committee to aid in the process, it seems the Texans might have their eye on another former Cleveland Brown.

While Johnson and Fells haven’t had a franchise-altering impact on the Texans, John Dorsey just might. Particularly with his known ties to Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who is often mentioned as a candidate to fill the head coaching vacancy in Houston.

Jason La Canfora:

Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation said that despite Dorsey’s short stay in Cleveland, where the hiring of novice coach Freddie Kitchens in 2019 resulted in a reboot after one season, Hughes continues to be a supporter of his. The Browns are quite possibly headed to the playoffs with a roster that Dorsey largely constructed, and Dorsey also has ties to Chiefs assistant coach Eric Bieniemy; Bieniemy will almost certainly have the opportunity to interview with multiple teams again this January and sources said that Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is a big proponent of Bieniemy (he coaches Watson’s friend, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes).

While Dorsey might not be the best GM candidate out there, he’d certainly be a wildly positive upgrade from Bill O’Brien.

Landry Locker (Sports Radio 610):

“I don’t think John Dorsey needs to interview. If they want John Dorsey to interview for this job, he just needs to put on the Cleveland Browns highlights from this weekend... Anybody else you interview there’s going to be a lot of unknown. Because all these other names we hear... they’re unknowns. John Dorsey built the Chiefs. John Dorsey built the Browns.”

Dorsey, a former Green Bay Packers linebacker, would certainly have an eye for defensive talent, and his Wisconsin roots might quickly endear him to Texans all-world defender J.J. Watt. Having drafted Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce for the Kansas City Chiefs before he was let go from KC for allegedly making a mess of their salary cap, Dorsey moved to Cleveland, where he drafted Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Greedy Williams, pulled off a trade for Odell Beckham Jr., took a chance on Kareem Hunt, and signed free agent defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.

Many in the know refer to Dorsey’s player acquisition skills as “boom or bust,” which should be familiar to Texans fans (see: Rick Smith). Houston fans would certainly welcome that over Bill O’Brien’s “bust or bust” style that led to the exits of players like Jadeveon Clowney, DeAndre Hopkins, and others while O’Brien whiffed on most of his draft picks.

Over at SI.com, they’re pontificating that the new Houston Texans regime might look like this:

• John Dorsey becomes the Texans’ new general manager.

With Dorsey in control, Jack Easterby’s input on the roster would hopefully come to an end.

• Eric Bieniemy becomes the Texans’ new head coach.

Imagine what Bieniemy could do with Deshaun Watson and a better tailback.

• Anthony Weaver remains the Texans’ defensive coordinator.

While a lot of folks hang the stench of Houston’s last place defense on Weaver, the poor guy is trying to make champagne from lemons over here. I mean, when Vernon Hargreaves III is in the conversation of who your best cornerback is, even the greatest defensive coordinator in NFL history is going to struggle.

Could John Dorsey’s third trip to the GM seat be the charm? Or should the Texans keep on looking, hoping to wrest a candidate like Kansas City’s Mike Borganzi, Ed Dodds of the Indianapolis Colts, or Pittsburgh Steelers GM Kevin Colbert?