Texans add two assistant coaches…sort of.
Everyone that is a regular reader of the value of things knows I am a lover of all things numbers. Isolated numbers can certainly fool us, but the more numbers we offer the clearer the picture gets. I simply went to pro-football reference and went across the board and looked at the Houston Texans’ ranking in those categories. It isn’t a pretty sight, but we have to confront our demons in order to exorcise them.
Total Yards: 22nd
Yards per play: 23rd
Passing Yards: 21st
Passing TDs: 25th
Net Yards per attempt: 26th
Rushing Yards: 15th
Rushing YPA: 15th
Rushing TDs: 16th
Penalties: 26th
Penalty Yardage: 26th
Completion percentage: 25th
QB Rating: 22nd
Sacks: 29th
Sack percentage: 25th
There is one significant category I left out and I left it out on purpose. The Texans were 11th in fewest turnovers. That is the only category where they were significantly better than average. They were average or below average in every category. In a few they were significantly worse than below average.
This is the reason why the Texans dismissed their offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in the first place. They were projected to have an offense that would have been average to above average across the board. Certainly, we can and will look at individual position groups and available players eventually, but the easiest and quickest fix is a coaching fix.
I’m trying very hard to understand the logic of bringing back assistant offensive line coach Cole Popovich as the leading offensive line coach. Sure, maybe he was hampered by Chris Strausser or Bobby Slowik’s play calling. He had experience with Nick Caley in New England, so I guess there is familiarity there, but he wasn’t going anywhere. No one was beating down his door to hire him as their offensive line coach. It would have killed you to interview any outside candidates?
If there is a significant gap between expectations and production I expect heads to roll and I expect more than just the two they picked. Maybe some of those heads will be player heads. As of yet, there hasn’t been any word on running backs, wide receivers, or tight ends. Yet, the quarterbacks coach may have already been spoken for.
According to reports, the Texans are set up to hire Rams offensive assistant Jerry Schuplinski. I say maybe spoken for because the team hasn’t announced the move or what role he would fill. I assume quarterbacks coach because he was the assistant in New England and the quarterbacks coach for Daniel Jones in New York when he had some better seasons. Both Jacoby Brisset and Jimmy Garoppolo have spoken highly of him.
Like any other hire, there are two sides to this story. He is yet another John Carroll University graduate, so the reunion will clearly be held in Houston next year. There is a very definite New England bias here and that has to be reckoned with. These things have multiple facets to them, but the main one is that there is a particular lack of success when anyone not named Tom Brady is quarterbacking a New England offense.
The fact that this coach also experienced success in New York and Los Angeles has to be seen as a positive and the fact that at least three different quarterbacks speak highly of him is a positive. It was clear that at least Bobby Slowik had a shaky relationship with C.J. Stroud. Maybe this is an opportunity to form some better relationships there.
At the end of the day, these hires have to be seen through the prism of public relations. When you don’t have any results that’s really all you have. The PR is an immediate hit on these two hires. The offensive line was terrible and you are hiring someone that was already in that room. Schuplinski could be seen as just another buddy hire. Naturally, this is partially because we don’t know who is exactly responsible for the hiring.
Moreover, they still have a few more opportunities to possibly upgrade the staff. The wide receivers and tight ends were not good as a group. Getting them new coaches is probably a good idea. Maybe there is a reason why John Metchie and Xavier Hutchinson have underperformed. Maybe there is a reason why Dalton Schultz had a down season. It is time to fix that problem.