Deshaun Watson Should Be Horrified by the Houston Texans’ Latest Head Coaching Plans
If the Houston Texans are trying to make Deshaun Watson feel confident about his future in Texas, they may want to reconsider.
Watson has been linked to trade rumors as the Houston Texans try to get their future back on track. Although Houston is the last team that hasn’t hired a head coach for the 2021 season, the franchise has interviewed the likes of Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady in recent weeks.
However, if the Texans go through and hire their latest reported candidate, Watson needs to hop on the next flight to New York … or to Miami … or anywhere else but Houston.
The Houston Texans could trade Deshaun Watson
At some point, the Houston Texans organization needs to do a deep dive into what went wrong across roughly 140 days.
It was only 135 days ago at this story’s publication when Deshaun Watson and the Texans opened their 2020 season against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Watson had just signed a long-term contract and was ready to build off a strong 2019 campaign.
Watson lived up to expectations, as he set career-highs in completion percentage (70.2%), passing yards (4,823), touchdowns (33), and interceptions (seven) in his 16 starts. The fourth-year quarterback led the league in passing yards for the first time in his career.
However, the Texans fired head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien after a slow start and finished 4-12. Nearly a year after the O’Brien and Watson duo won another AFC South Division crown, Watson could also be on his way out of Houston.
The Houston Texans are interested in hiring Josh McCown
The Houston Texans are the last NFL team with a head coaching vacancy.
According to the NFL’s official website, the Texans have interviewed nine coaching candidates as of Jan. 23, 2021. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier are among the more popular names who met with the Texans.
Houston also interviewed former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell and ex-Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, among others.
The latest name in the equation is perhaps the most fascinating. Houston interviewed veteran quarterback Josh McCown for the head coaching position.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Houston Texans are interested in hiring McCown — who spent last season split between the Eagles’ and Texans’ practice squads — as the team’s next head coach.
McCown’s lone coaching experience came at the high school level. The 41-year-old veteran gunslinger’s only roles in the NFL have been that of a quarterback, either one who starts or one who stands on the sidelines.
Deshaun Watson should run if the Texans hire Josh McCown
If the Houston Texans hire Josh McCown, it will mark an extreme departure from what is standard in the NFL.
NBA teams have hired active players, including Derek Fisher and Jason Kidd, as head coaches in recent years. Player-managers were frequent in Major League Baseball for a long time, and Joe Torre briefly held that role for the New York Mets in 1977 before he retired and became the full-time manager.
NFL Media reported that Houston would hire a veteran head coach to serve on McCown’s staff, which is a smart move. But if Houston goes in that unique direction and wants to rebuild with McCown in charge, the team needs to trade Deshaun Watson.
Watson will play most of the 2021 season at 26 years old, and he has emerged as one of the league’s top young quarterbacks. He has a power that quarterbacks in years past would have dreamed of when it comes to potentially forcing a trade.
The Texans would be wise to decide on McCown and Watson’s futures soon. However, if Houston does trade Watson, maybe McCown should consider suiting up as the ultra-rare player-coach.
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