[Cowher interested in becoming Texans HC] Finally, Music to my ears...

[cadams]

Originally Posted by coloradodude

Since Mario has been in the NFL, he has been terrible against the run. However, he has the size and speed to be great...that's potential. Potential means nothing, ask David Carr.

Mario is currently great as a supporting cast member, not a difference maker. No O coordinator gameplans around him.

With the right DC/HC that could change. Personally, I don't want Cowher because I anticipate a performance like his last year in Pittsburgh, similar to what Shanihan is and will do in Washington.

are you high? mario has been much better against the run that the pass over his career, and mario is the only player on the texans defense that opposing teams do actually game plan for. i am not saying mario has played up to his potential, but your comments are way off.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

They both won SBs and they've both become even higher-profile since leaving the NFL with their TV careers, especially Gruden, who of course didn't even leave his last job voluntarily. And he won his SB primarily when he walked into a very good situation because Dungy knew how to put togehter
an outstanding defense.
Cowher on the other hand is far more impressive to me, but I suspect too many other opportunities for him to end up down here.

Gruden's first year in Tampa was his superbowl win. During that year Tampa Bay actually allowed 5 fewer points per game than they had the previous year under Dungy (from 17 ppg to 12). And he won a Superbowl with Brad Johnson, Michael Pittman, and Keenan McCardell as his top Passer, Rusher, and Receiver. That is a miraculous coaching job to win with that offensive talent (or lack thereof). He never duplicated that success and is not a guy I would line up and demand, but it is revisionist history to say he walked into a superbowl team like Switzer.

As for Cowher, he won a superbowl in his 2nd to last season of coaching. I don't think hunger is an issue even though he was 8-8 the following year. He also isn't higher profile now like you claimed. And if there were too many opportunities for him to end up here, his people wouldn't be floating his name out here for our job before it even opens.

We need two things in Houston (1) better defense, and (2) to create a winning culture. It would seem Cowher is a hit on both counts.

The only problem is it is looking more and more like this is all make believe and Kubiak will be back.

[kRocket]

The report i heard, and I can't remember where, was that Cowher was interested in returning to coaching in the NFL, but wanted to go to a team that was within reach of the playoffs/SB with just some tweaking. According to this report, they went on to list his teams of interest as the Giants, Dolphins and Texans, in that order. So according to that report we are not #1 on his list. So the interest in this thread may be overstated anyway.

[Blitzwood]

Originally Posted by kRocket

The report i heard, and I can't remember where, was that Cowher was interested in returning to coaching in the NFL, but wanted to go to a team that was within reach of the playoffs/SB with just some tweaking. According to this report, they went on to list his teams of interest as the Giants, Dolphins and Texans, in that order. So according to that report we are not #1 on his list. So the interest in this thread may be overstated anyway.

Well......not so fast.





ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that Bill Cowher has a wish list of three teams -- the Texans, Dolphins and Giants.

Of the preferred three, the Texans are best situated to make a rapid rise. Their offense is top-notch, though their defense is not. But Cowher knows defense. The Dolphins are the team that Bill Parcells built -- and abandoned when he saw it wasn't going to work. The Dolphins have no quarterback. The Giants are tempting because they have Eli Manning and Justin Tuck and are in the Big Apple. Hard to turn that down if Tom Coughlin gets canned.



But barring Coughlin's ouster, my guess is Cowher resurfaces in Houston, where he can capitalize on the shifting winds of the division. The Colts are vulnerable, the Titans are in turmoil and the Jaguars are headed to L.A. Cowher is just what the Texans need.

kmurray@tribune.com

He'll return -- to studio

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

On Sunday's edition of CBS' "The NFL Today," Bill Cowher is going to play sports scientist and go into his "lab" to conduct experiments on ways to improve football. He'll look at everything from reseeding playoff teams, to widening the field, to why coaches aren't given unlimited replay challenges.

What Cowher isn't going to do is announce he's coming back to coach. Cowher likes being a TV analyst, and he doesn't have a burning desire to return to the sideline -- especially it's for a team that's not positioned to win.

NFL owners are going to be very careful about making splashy coaching hires while the labor situation is in dispute. You can expect to see Cowher on Sundays next fall -- but expect to see him in a studio, not holding a clipboard.

sfarmer@tribune.com

Talents to Miami

Dan Pompei, Chicago Tribune

Bill Cowher has the luxury of being very selective. He can wait for precisely the right NFL job to open up because he likes being a broadcaster. And he can demand exactly what he wants in his contract because he will be the most sought-after candidate.

There are not many potential job openings that would appeal to Cowher. Even though he lives in North Carolina, the Panthers likely wouldn't meet his contract requirements. It's unlikely the 49ers would either. The Cowboys' situation might be too messy with Jerry Jones involved.

The strongest possibilities are the Giants, Texans, Dolphins and Broncos, assuming those teams make changes. The Giants could be the best fit for Cowher, but they probably will stick with Tom Coughlin.

The most likely place for him to end up, then, might be Miami.

dpompei@tribune.com

Houston fits best

Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel

If Bill Cowher wants a cushy job at a good salary, he'll stay on the CBS set next year. But if he wants to return to coaching, the Texans are his best fit of the three teams on his short list.

The Giants would be the best job. But the Mara family won't and shouldn't fire Tom Coughlin. The Dolphins job has too many problems.

The Texans and Cowher work, though. Houston has the league's fifth-ranked offense with all the necessary parts: good quarterback in Matt Schaub, dynamic playmaker in Andre Johnson and solid running game.

Where Houston needs reorganization is defense. It just needs some good offseason moves and better coaching.

And what's Cowher's specialty? Defense. Everything says Houston is the best fit.

dhyde@tribune.com


http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,893717.column

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by barrett

We need two things in Houston (1) better defense, and (2) to create a winning culture.

A "winning culture" is just kinda an old worn out cliche that really doesn't mean much of anything ? #1 will suffice - better talent on defensive. Like guys who can effectively and consistantly put pressure on the QB and guys who can cover the receivers.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

A "winning culture" is just kinda an old worn out cliche that really doesn't mean much of anything ? #1 will suffice - better talent on defensive. Like guys who can effectively and consistantly put pressure on the QB and guys who can cover the receivers.

Winning Culture is no cliche.

Losing breeds losing. Guys start expecting it. They start waiting for something to go wrong. Even on my couch I have started to cringe and wait for disaster every time this time we play well. This is a losing culture.

The opposite would be a winning culture where a team expects to somehow pull out every game. They expect the breaks to go their way. They expect an OL to take a kickoff 71 yards. They expect to be the team that gets the pick 6 in OT, not the other way around.

Our guys need a reason to believe that they are going to win. That the breaks are going to go that way. A few QBs are capable of creating that feeling on their team. Maybe 1 defensive guy. But mostly that comes down to the head coach. And you better believe Bill Cowher standing on the sideline would go a long way towards our players shaking off the feeling of impending doom we now operate under.

As for superior talent fixing #1, good luck. Because I really wonder if we just blew our 1st round pick going with Jackson over McCourty, or if you swapped the two, you would see McCourty falling down and Jackson picking off passes. Or our multiple #1 picks and FA signings on the DL. What can we really spend on the DL to get consistent pass rush that hasn't been spent already? So good luck fixing our Defense through personnel changes made by the same guys who got and coached the current personnel.

[coloradodude]

In the second year of the Texans history, I think it was Gary Walker who was pretty upset after several losses and he said "we need to stop talking about how we benefit from losing and start focusing on winning".

So to say there's a losing culture in Houston would be accurate...we're used to losing and while our expectations are high in the public's eye, I don't think McNair truly is expecting much other than a write off.


Am I high? No but when a lone no name right tackle can fend off a "premier" DE in just about every single game, well, the evidence indicates that I'm very sober, like the facts.

[HPF Bob]

I agree with Barrett. There is a losing culture here and this season personifies it. The team had made four comebacks of 14-points or more to tie or take the lead, only to lose each time. That tells you a) the talent is there to win games but b) there's no attitude that expects to close the sale.

The part about Kubiak that galls me the most is the lack of mental toughness. When Schaub gets cheap-shotted, (see Drayton Florence, Jared Allen), there's no Texan player to fight back - clean or dirty. That's what made AJ's tiff with Finnegan even more remarkable is that he actually took care or business even if it meant crossing the line. And while the Texans lost this Sunday, Finnegan wasn't a factor against AJ.

Do you think Cowher would tolerate his QB getting a cheap-shot without some payback? No way. That Baltimore-Pittsburgh SNF game a couple of weeks ago was a street brawl but those were two teams that weren't going to back down for anything and both of those teams are headed to the playoffs and the Texans (once again) aren't. Any guesses why?

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

I agree with Barrett. There is a losing culture here and this season personifies it. The team had made four comebacks of 14-points or more to tie or take the lead, only to lose each time. That tells you a) the talent is there to win games but b) there's no attitude that expects to close the sale.

I don't think it's as much of an accomplishment for the Texans to come back
in games as some people do. The dirty little secret about the Texans is they've got inferior personnel which puts them in the hole early in a game, at which point the other team goes to conservative mode (on both defense and offense) and protects their lead rather than trying to build on it. Sure the Texans usually close the gap, sometimes to a razor thin margin, but much more often than not they end up losing.
Re winning/losing culture, what we saw Sunday in Nashville was a team that just lacked effort/focus, and that was absent probably because there's no longer anything to play for this season - no motivation.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I don't think it's as much of an accomplishment for the Texans to come back
in games as some people do. The dirty little secret about the Texans is they've got inferior personnel which puts them in the hole early in a game, at which point the other team goes to conservative mode (on both defense and offense) and protects their lead rather than trying to build on it. Sure the Texans usually close the gap, sometimes to a razor thin margin, but much more often than not they end up losing.
Re winning/losing culture, what we saw Sunday in Nashville was a team that just lacked effort/focus, and that was absent probably because there's no longer anything to play for this season - no motivation.

The NFL is not the NBA where everybody makes a run. You don't get a free comeback because your opponent goes conservative. If you are falling behind because you are bad, then you are likely to fall further behind, since the game is far easier to play with a lead.

If the Texans were simply coming back because other teams let up, then you would see it all over the league. Instead it is unique and the Texans have done this (come back from 14 and lose) more than twice as much as any team in NFL history. And you can throw in 2 other successful comebacks. That means that SIX TIMES they came out flat and fell behind 2+ touchdowns, only to come back. That is not a team that has inferior talent. That is a poorly coached team.

The facts just don't match up with what you are telling us.

[nunusguy]

NFL teams win with talent, then the winning culture follows, not vice versa. End of story.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

NFL teams win with talent, then the winning culture follows, not vice versa. End of story.

Saying 'end of story' doesn't actually mean you are right.

How about the countless times where NFL teams change little but the coach and start winning immediately? Talent is more evenly distributed in the NFL than in any other pro sports league. Combine that with the far smaller number of games and success is not determined by who, but by how.

Just this year we see the Chiefs, Bucs, and Jaguars winning with major talent deficiencies. The Jags may actually have entered the season worse at Safety than we did, and with little of the offensive talent we have to make up for it. The Chiefs and Bucs actually started their turn arounds by getting rid of their most talented players and starting from scratch with young guys who had not been a part of the losing. The head coaches in both cases have changed what those players expect to happen on Sundays.

Not to mention teams who had plenty of talent a year ago like Dallas and Minnesota can't sniff .500 this year. Where is the winning culture following talent on those teams.

There is no league where talent determines success less than the NFL. Scheme, motivation, health, and schedule are huge factors. We can't control the last two, but it is the job of our coaching staff to control the first two, and they have failed to do so.

[kRocket]

Originally Posted by Blitzwood

Well......not so fast.

Sorry, but sighting a handful of editorials, read that other peoples opinions, does not exactly make me wrong and you right. That said, I hope you are correct and more so I hope the owner of the Texans reads all of those editorials. I think Kubiak has done what he can for the Texans.

As far as the arguments about the talent vs. confidence argument goes I watched the Oilers from day one and they had more moral victories than any team in history, but the day they drafted the "Tyler Rose" that all changed. They offensive linemen knew that if they gave him just a hint of daylight he was gone and that turned them into one of best offensive lines in the NFL. That matured the defense also and the Oilers never made it to the SB until they got to Tenn, but they never accepted moral victories again.

BTW, although I know a lot of people on this board don't like him, but it is very likely that Albert Haynesworth is not going back to the redskins. He happens to be one of the best players in the NFL at the position that we need most in the DL. His complaint was after he signed with the Redskins, Shanny came into coach and wanted to change to to a 3-4 from the 4-3 that they had signed AH for. He did not want to play NT and then he and Shanny got crosswise. He didn't handle it well but it was not his creation IMO. That would immediately transform one of our biggest problems into one of our biggest advantages against other teams. Then the draft and rest of FA could be devoted to LB's and DB's with a OL or two.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by barrett

Scheme, motivation, health, and schedule are huge factors. We can't control the last two, but it is the job of our coaching staff to control the first two, and they have failed to do so.

Now I agree with that, but I don't agree that motivation is the same as "winning culture". You can resurrect Vince Lombardi from the dead, and he can surely motivate his players, but he wouldn't win in Houston until he's got the necessary talent. And regarding schemes (both offensive and defensive), good point and of course that's a coaching issue but that's not at all synonymous with "winning attitude" either IMO ?
We've already got players on our team who've spent their college careers at places like Miami, USC, 'Bama, etc. who learned all about a "winning culture"
in those programs, so obviously something else is missing from the formula here in Houston ?
"Winning attitude", "team chemistry", etc are all kinda vague terms used for players who complement each other on the team, have expereinced success, but first and foremost have "god given" talent. We need more "god given" talent here in Houston IMO.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by kRocket

BTW, although I know a lot of people on this board don't like him, but it is very likely that Albert Haynesworth is not going back to the redskins. He happens to be one of the best players in the NFL at the position that we need most in the DL.

You know there's really something downright intoxicating about contemplating the acquisition of Fat Albert. If a team could structure the right contract including incentive clauses and options that would permit them to release him from the roster under certain scenarios including those based upon his performance/hehavior, maybe it could work even for the Texans and a stodgy old owner like Bob McNair ? He's the kind of downlineman we've never had here who could potentially make a huge difference for our defense.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Now I agree with that, but I don't agree that motivation is the same as "winning culture". You can resurrect Vince Lombardi from the dead, and he can surely motivate his players, but he wouldn't win in Houston until he's got the necessary talent. And regarding schemes (both offensive and defensive), good point and of course that's a coaching issue but that's not at all synonymous with "winning attitude" either IMO ?
We've already got players on our team who've spent their college careers at places like Miami, USC, 'Bama, etc. who learned all about a "winning culture"
in those programs, so obviously something else is missing from the formula here in Houston ?
"Winning attitude", "team chemistry", etc are all kinda vague terms used for players who complement each other on the team, have expereinced success, but first and foremost have "god given" talent. We need more "god given" talent here in Houston IMO.

The win totals of the Cincinnatti Bengals,

2008 - 4
2009 - 10
2010 - 3

Their team talent has not changed significantly in any of those 3 seasons. Talent is not supreme in the NFL.

But just answer one question. Are the most talented teams in the NFL the most winning teams right now?

[HPF Bob]

Talent may not change but injuries often do. You can have the same personnel for 2-3 years but if the key players don't stay healthy, you can have wildly different results.

If we go to an 18-game season, that will become even more noticeable as the NFL becomes more a war of attrition than a true quest for a championship.

[coloradodude]

To talk about talent as being one of the most important aspects of a team is always in fashion when the team loses continuously.

But, is Tom Brady more talented than Michael Vick? Or Phillip Rivers?

Talent is not the end all, be all of team losses. An excellent coach can squeeze more production out of an inferior talent level team...see Bill Parcells (Giants) and Bear Bryant just off the top of my head.

Coaching has gotten the results we need in our running game. Coaching (lack of) has also gotten us where we are in our defense.