Max Power said:

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DeMeco, Slowik, and Caserio need to figure out this offseason if there's any chance at Mills being successful with a better supporting cast than what he's been given. To me that's the biggest question this offseason given that I don't know anyone could be successful with our roster last season. Where would Houston have ended up this season with Mahomes or Hurts alone with the exact same group that Mills had around him?

The NFL draft is in 73 days.

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There is no question about Mills. He isn't that guy.

Max Power said:

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Watching the game and several things stuck out at me specifically on the offensive not, not just the need for a competent QB.

1) Strong offensive line, both teams did an incredible job protecting their QB during the most important game of the season, also necessary to have any run game.
2) Weapons, each team had a minimum of 3 competent WR's and 2 competent RB's.
3) Offensive variety/detail, each defense was kept on their toes all game, guys were getting open, catching almost every ball they had the opportunity to do so. Everyone was doing their jobs.
4) They were complete, I don't think I could say either side was deficient in any specific aspects, at least none that jumped out at me. Maybe Philly's run game was diminished during the game, but that I attribute to a solid KC game plan.
5) You can be successful at the highest level with a young HC & coordinators like Philly was, or with highly experienced ones like KC.
6) You have to draft well and be smart/active in free agency. The players they drafted and brought in fit what they wanted to be.
7) There's no doubt the teams should have been there, it was no accident they found themselves in the position where they were at the end of the season. They were designed to be what they became.

I'm sure none of this is newsworthy but it just illustrates to me we have a long way to go, but also that it's not a secret sauce that leads to a team that ends up in the SB. These teams make total sense to me.

DeMeco, Slowik, and Caserio need to figure out this offseason if there's any chance at Mills being successful with a better supporting cast than what he's been given. To me that's the biggest question this offseason given that I don't know anyone could be successful with our roster last season. Where would Houston have ended up this season with Mahomes or Hurts alone with the exact same group that Mills had around him?

The NFL draft is in 73 days.

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I think 6 is very big, we need to target specific players who fit what we're planning on doing. I think KC is a great example of scheme fits at WR and RB mixed in with a true no 1 (in their case it would be at TE). But, I think being smart about how you bring in players whose talents fit the scheme, is much more important than just drafting talented players these days.

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/report-derek-carr-refuses-trade-shaking-nfl-qb-market


Bears have got to hate that Carr wouldn't accept a trade. Having an unrestricted free agent starter on the open market will impact the trade value for #1.

Tom Kazansky 2012 said:

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LincolnBorglum79 said:

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John elway and Eli Manning were drafted and traded before they every played a down. Both were top 3 and if you add their 4 Super Bowl wins to the 9 wins by the other 3 guys thats 13/57 that's 23% of all super bowls. Besides Brady, how many 6th round QBs have won the big game? Why not just draft your qb in round 6 and get Brady. That should work

You point that top 3 picks don't always pan out is certainly true. But if drafting a qb in the top 3 gives you a 23% chance to win the Super Bowl, seems worth it. Statistics.

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But it doesnt. It gives those successful 5 qbs only a 23% shot.

Add in all the others that have been taken top 3 and their Super Bowl wins and that number drastically drops to a less than significant chance of winning.

I think great O lines are way more statistically important to winning a Super Bowl.

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the problem is the arbitrary top 3 criteria.

if top 5 criteria is used...then we pick up Len Dawson -- 1 SB title and 2 SB appearances

if top 10 is used...then Mahomes joins the list -- 2 SB titles and 3 SB appearances.

if top 12 is used...then Big Ben and Joe Namath -- 3 more SB titles

also Burrow's getting the Bengals to the Super Bowl last year

and Cam Newton's getting the Panthers to the Super Bowl several years ago

justifies their top 3 selections...even though they didn't win the big game

The #Texans are expected to hire #49ers secondary coach Cory Undlin as defensive passing game coordinator, per @AaronWilson_NFL pic.twitter.com/IPfK9BRycx

— 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙎𝙁𝙉𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 (@TheSFNiners) February 14, 2023

Undlin has coached since 1998, and won two Super Bowls, one with the Patriots as a Defensive Asst. and one with the Eagles in 2015 as a Defensive Backs Coach.

— Patrick Storm (@PatrickStormHTX) February 14, 2023

I'm really loving this coaching staff.

Hopefully the cardinals don't hire which ever coach wants Klint Kubiak as their OC and we can get him!

https://texanswire.usatoday.com/2023/02/14/texans-hot-scheme-bobby-slowik/


Great article about Slowik who will be installing an offensive system, from the Shanahan and Gary Kubiak tree, that will match what McDaniel put in at Miami.

I like the Slowik hire but I do have a slight bit of concern with having such a young, inexperienced (at calling plays) OC paired with Demeco.

I imagine Demeco will be pretty hands off as far as the offense goes so it would be nice if they had a bit more experienced on that side of the ball.

I think it's a high risk/high reward hire

Ag_07 said:

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I like the Slowik hire but I do have a slight bit of concern with having such a young, inexperienced (at calling plays) OC paired with Demeco.

I imagine Demeco will be pretty hands off as far as the offense goes so it would be nice if they had a bit more experienced on that side of the ball.

I think it's a high risk/high reward hire

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That's why Klint Kubiak is important, if not him I'm sure we'll look for someone else who has play calling experience. But this is the only way to get one of than targeted offensive minds, if you're not making an OC head coach. So I think the risk is worth it.

Klint is the same age as Slowik.

WGAF about age it's a matter of experience calling plays.

And FWIW I see Klint only has 1 season doing that while in MIN.

Again...I still like the Slowik hire but that experience is just one slight knock against the offensive staff Demeco is building. I think it would go a long way to hire someone like Gary Kubiak as some kind of offensive consultant to help mentor these young guys.

Ag_07 said:

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WGAF about age it's a matter of experience calling plays.

And FWIW I see Klint only has 1 season doing that while in MIN.

Again...I still like the Slowik hire but that experience is just one slight knock against the offensive staff Demeco is building. I think it would go a long way to hire someone like Gary Kubiak as some kind of offensive consultant to help mentor these young guys.

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Man, would love for Gary to get even an analyst spot, but he wouldn't be too shabby as a run game coordinator too

these guys are young enough to have plenty of experience calling plays on Madden I'm sure

So far this staff is being built on "youth" and little experience. Demeco has 2 years of defensive play calling, Offiensive coordinator has never called plays. Deffensive Coordinator, 2 years of play calling 5 years ago.

I assume there is going to be some analysts/consultants(Gary) with some actual experience added at some point.

#Texans retained defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire, and former #Browns    defensive line coach Chris Kiffin to coach linebackers, per league sources

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 14, 2023

Nice tweet with an up to date list of the coaches that Meco has hired:

DeMeco Ryans #Texans staff updated:
OC - Bobby Slowik
QB - Jerrod Johnson
RB -
WR -
TE -
OL - Chris Strausser
DC - Matt Burke
DL - Jacques Cesaire
LB - Chris Kiffin
CB -
DPGC - Cory Undlin
S - Stephen Adegoke
ST - Frank Ross
COS - Nick Kray

— Jair Lopez (@TXNFootball) February 15, 2023

What's going on with Klint Kubiak? I haven't heard anything regarding him since McClain's "I'm an idiot!" tweet.

The #49ers are hiring Klint Kubiak to a top role on Kyle Shanahan’s offensive staff, replacing Bobby Slowik, per sources.

Kubiak, the former #Vikings OC and #Broncos QB coach, steps into a spot that has been a promotion factory, with Slowik most recently becoming Houston’s OC. pic.twitter.com/kXDodotQwj

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 16, 2023

That's a bit of a miss but I guess you can't blame him for choosing Shanahan over Demeco.

And I doubt he wants to go from HC to position coach but Kliff would be perfect to slot into the QB coach role.

Ag_07 said:

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That's a bit of a miss but I guess you can't blame him for choosing Shanahan over Demeco.

And I doubt he wants to go from HC to position coach but Kliff would be perfect to slot into the QB coach role.

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We hired Jerrod Johnson to be QB coach

chjoak said:

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Ag_07 said:

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That's a bit of a miss but I guess you can't blame him for choosing Shanahan over Demeco.

And I doubt he wants to go from HC to position coach but Kliff would be perfect to slot into the QB coach role.

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We hired Jerrod Johnson to be QB coach

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You're right. I lost track of what they still need to fill.

Point still stands...I don't think Kliff would go from HC to position coach.

Shane Day has a long+versatile history working within the Shanahan system.

-49ers quality control (07’-09’)
- Bears QB coach (10’-11’)
- Washington’s assistant OL coach under Sean McVay (14’-15’)
- Dolphins TE coach (16’-18’)
- 49ers QB coach under Kyle Shanahan (19’-20’) https://t.co/71flPDQMaF

— Jordan Pun (@Texans_Thoughts) February 17, 2023

So we're hiring Shane Day as a Senior Offensive Assistant

Not sure what that entails, but it's interesting

Edit: I guess this is what it entails:

The Texans new senior offensive assistant, Shane Day, will be help coach our new rookie the QB and assist OC Bobby Slowik with creating the game plan. Here’s a little clip of him working with Justin Herbert & Chase Daniel in LA. #WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/Xa3p5a8nzH

— Texans Fan Battle Podcast (@TexansFanBattle) February 17, 2023

On the Klint miss, lets just say conflicting reports as a result of Klint not conveying his true wants

The Houston talk radio host who replaced ND Kalu on 790 in the morning was discussing the idea that Will Levis might be the best fit for the Texans new QB. His OCs at Kentucky both are part of the Kubiak Shanahan coaching tree and he is more mobile than Stroud and compares to Josh Allen. If he is Josh Allen, Young is Kyler and Stroud is like Justin Fields then he may be the best fit.

In a related topic they also discussed the need for a TE. If the ND TE or the 6'7" TE from Florida are there in round 2 makes sense. They should go after Mattison at Minn or Achane at RB and get best WR they can also on day 1 or 2.

Wants as in what? Money, role, responsibilities?

His feet and decision making are his biggest weaknesses. For every amazing throw he makes there are 3-5 flat out bad reads. That doesn't just disappear in the league.

It seems like people come for the arm strength and the size but leave after they watch enough of the tape.

I'll take better decision making and pocket presence over attributes every day.

bilbobag said:

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On the Klint miss, lets just say conflicting reports as a result of Klint not conveying his true wants

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or Klint never had any intention to come here and just used the Texans as leverage to get a different job

LincolnBorglum79 said:

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The Houston talk radio host who replaced ND Kalu on 790 in the morning was discussing the idea that Will Levis might be the best fit for the Texans new QB. His OCs at Kentucky both are part of the Kubiak Shanahan coaching tree and he is more mobile than Stroud and compares to Josh Allen. If he is Josh Allen, Young is Kyler and Stroud is like Justin Fields then he may be the best fit.

In a related topic they also discussed the need for a TE. If the ND TE or the 6'7" TE from Florida are there in round 2 makes sense. They should go after Mattison at Minn or Achane at RB and get best WR they can also on day 1 or 2.

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I still look at Young as QB1 and Stroud is QB2. I'm just not big on Levis, that being said I trust the staff to figure out who is the best fit for what they want to do on offense. The more stuff I read/hear the more I think Young is more polarizing than a lot of us think. I think there's a lot more teams that are 100% out on him due to the size concerns. The Josh Allen comp might be apt for Levis, I still don't know enough about him to make that call. When I watch Young he doesn't strike me like Kyler, he reminds me of a smaller version of Deshaun Watson in all honesty. The way he stands in the pocket, his passes, the way he moves, all very similar to Watson. Stroud rarely uses his legs and throws a nice ball, he reminds me of a Trevor Lawrence/Russell Wilson/Jared Goff hybrid, he's the best pure passer in the draft. Though he's a bit bigger the best case scenario for Richardson is Jalen Hurts, but he's got a long way to go to get there.

Because of the fact there's no consensus No 1 pick at QB I still contend that Houston should just sit at no 2. I'm not convinced the bears will get a king's ransom for the top pick, they might not be able to afford trading back and losing out on the top defensive prospects. I still think they're either taking Carter or Anderson and calling it a day.

Echoing this. Look at the history of trading up for the #1 pick. It is often massively underwhelming for the team that swings.

Not trading in the first round, the first pick. It's very rare and rarely pans out.

I think there's an interest in putting some smoke out to try and get the texans brass to shake and do something stupid, as they have in the past few years.

This is definitely a test of wills.

Kinda like when Irsay said he likes Young, I'm not sure that's a true endorsement. What good does it do the Colts for him to go start running his mouth about what player he wants? Even though I don't think Irsay is anywhere near the tops of the league when it comes to intelligent owners, even he should know better than to reveal his true feelings. There's going to be a lot of posturing by other teams and misinformation out there about who they like. Let them all talk, we just need to do our homework.

Sources: #Texans retain receivers coach-passing game coordinator Ben McDaniels, hire Chris Strausser as offensive line coach, Chris Kiffin as linebackers coach, Jake Moreland as tight ends coach, other staff updates: @KPRC2https://t.co/OFfMXcE8x9

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 21, 2023

Looks like we officially hired Chris Strausser for oline coach and will be keeping Ben McDaniels (Josh McDaniels brother) as WR coach. Interesting move, on the one hand we didn't have a lot of production out of the WR position this year, but on the other you could say he got a **** ton of production for the talent we had available.

Also missed the TE coach part in the first pass "Former Denver Broncos tight ends coach and New York Jets assistant offensive line coach Jake Moreland as tight ends coach"

So per that report we're looking at:

OC - Bobby Slowik
QB - Jerrod Johnson
RB -
WR - Ben McDaniels (from Lovie's Staff)
TE - Jake Moreland
OL - Chris Strausser
DC - Matt Burke
DL - Jacques Cesaire (from Lovie's Staff)
LB - Chris Kiffin
CB - Dino Vasso (from Lovie's Staff)
DPGC - Cory Undlin
S - Stephen Adegoke
ST - Frank Ross (from Lovie's Staff)
COS - Nick Kray

Maybe I missed it but haven't seen anything on RB coach