What in the world is going on in Houston? The Texans organization is falling apart at the seams.
Not too long ago, the Houston Texans were in the playoffs beating the future Super Bowl Champion Chiefs by more than 20. An epic collapse followed and the team has never been the same.
First and foremost, they dealt possibly the best wide receiver in the league in Deandre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for an aging, injury prone David Johnson. It seems they just threw him away for nothing.
Next, they get rid of Jadeveon Clowney for two has been players and a 3rd round pick.
These horrible decisions were blamed on head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien. As they should have been by the way. So, in the middle of the 2020 season, he gets the axe.
After a mediocre 4-12 season, star quarterback Deshaun Watson demands to be traded. This was even before they decided who would be the coach. Watson is yet to be traded, but as we all know, when a player wants out, they get out.
To try and bring some stability, the Texans hired former Patriots personnel guy Nick Casarios.
Then, on January 27th, the Texans hired former Baltimore Ravens assistant David Culley. Thinking they had at least begun to straighten out the clear issues going on. The Watson thing still has to be dealt with, but at least the big picture was a little more clear.
The stability lasted under a month.
On Wednesday, team president Jamey Rooters resigned. Now, this may have been part of the changing of the guard, but the timing was very odd.
That brings us to yesterday. All of a sudden, I got a breaking news alert on my phone. Thinking it was some dumb baseball story I didn’t care about, I took a quick glance. When I turned away, I whipped my head back to my phone as I read this headline: “JJ Watt asked for and granted release from Texans.”
JJ Watt has been the cornerstone of the Houston Texans ever since he was drafted 11th overall in 2011. This guy was the one player everyone associated with the franchise. He was an all-pro player and former defensive player of the year. Now, he isn’t what he used to be, but he is still a solid player. Not only that, he has meant so much to the organization and the greater Houston area, what could have motivated him to ask to be released?
Frustration is the answer.
Watt was sometimes the only star player on the Texans. He played his heart out just to be mediocre for so many years. After swinging and missing on so many QBs for so long, the Texans finally landed a good one in Deshaun Watson. Couple that with talents like Hopkins, Clowney and Laremy Tunsil, you would think it was time for them to make a run. That finally happened in 2019. Making a good playoff run and losing to the eventual Super Bowl champs was something they could build on.
Then it all fell apart. Bill O’Brien systematically destroyed a Super Bowl contending team, and turned it into a basement dwelling squad.
This organization is starting to look like one that is destined for mediocrity. It will take years to repair the damage that O’Brien and the front office made.
Personally, I don’t blame these guys for bailing. They want to win and not be stuck in a train wreck with the idiots running the show.
I don’t know much about Culley. What I do know is what Nick Casarios did in New England. I’m sure Watt saw that and decided to leave.
All I have to say to Houston fans, if there are any left, is enjoy being the bottom of the league for the next decade.