Should Rick Smith keep his job?

[WMH]

Hell no.

Blow the whole damn thing up.

IMO, wishful thinking....as I think it will be "minor" tweaks next year.
Hope I am wrong, as I have zero confidence left in this regime.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by WMH

Hell no.

Blow the whole damn thing up.

IMO, wishful thinking....as I think it will be "minor" tweaks next year.
Hope I am wrong, as I have zero confidence left in this regime.

That is how I feel and exactly what I think will happen

[nunusguy]

As a package deal, I'm of the opinion that if Kubiak doesn't win another game and finishes 5-11, he and Smith still have a 50/50 shot at being here in 2011.
But to your analysis of the Smith-Kubiak Drafts: I can almost excuse their mistake for picking Okoye, because he was so hyped and his Senior Bowl week including both practices and game-day performances were so impressive, as was the SenBowl week of Willis and with DeMeco coming off of his ROY performance at Willis position. There's little doubt a lot of other teams would have made the choice the Texans did in their situation, but he was a mistake. Not necessarily a bust, but definitely not a top 10 pick in that Draft or any Draft.
In retrospect the Cushing pick is now such a total mystery to me giving what's happened to him with bing busted, suspended for a month and all. I mean the Texans are such goody-2-shoes organization, I just figured they checked him out so completely there just could be no way any of the allegations about him were true ? But clearly they were, and we now have a guy who's no where near his rookie form for pretty apparent reasons, and we're left wondering when we might lose him again, the next time for a whole season I believe ?
And what to think about Kareem ? Let me just say there's a couple posters on another Board who swear by him, say his problems are all because of the defense he's stuck with, and he's really gonna have as good of a NFL career as another rookie CB, Devin McCourty of the Patriots, who looks sensational to me ? Go figure ? Personally I gotta say Kareem is a huge question mark at best ?

[HPF Bob]

I wouldn't bury Cushing just yet. He had just returned from his suspension when Demeco got hurt and he was made to switch positions and then switch back with no Ryans in the middle. I don't think he's the reason the defense sucks.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

I wouldn't bury Cushing just yet. He had just returned from his suspension when Demeco got hurt and he was made to switch positions and then switch back with no Ryans in the middle. I don't think he's the reason the defense sucks.

I'm not blaming him here for the problems of the defense, I'm talking about his individual performance and saying he's now "just a guy", like Okoye,
who wasn't worthy of being drafted in the top half of the first round.
SAMs usually aren't unless they're exceptional, and Cushing is anything but that based upon what I've seen this year and the season is almost over.

[NBT]

Originally Posted by painekiller

That is how I feel and exactly what I think will happen

You blow too hot and cold. With your way this franchise would always be in turmoil. You have to have some semblance of continuity or you start another 5 year rebulding job. This town deserves better. I don't know if the Smithiak duo is the problem, or the answer, I just know you've got to have the faith that things will get better or you don't. Frankly I don't know if I've got 5 more years of rebuilding left. So I just pray with a better DC, this team will get over the hump and get to the playoffs and beyond next year.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by NBT

You blow too hot and cold. With your way this franchise would always be in turmoil. You have to have some semblance of continuity or you start another 5 year rebulding job. This town deserves better. I don't know if the Smithiak duo is the problem, or the answer, I just know you've got to have the faith that things will get better or you don't. Frankly I don't know if I've got 5 more years of rebuilding left. So I just pray with a better DC, this team will get over the hump and get to the playoffs and beyond next year.

I don't think we are 5 years of rebuilding bad like we were when Casserly and Capers left. Right now we have talent but that talent is under achieving, and that usually points to coaching, especially Head Coaching. It is the job of the HC to motivate the team, and this group of guys does not have the fire they need to win.

Bring in a guy to tweak this team now.

[Keith]

Wanna take a trip down memory lane? Funny to think ItB has been around long enough to help us with some perspective.

Thread from June 2008 when Bob McNair extended Rick Smith's contract early: http://www.inthebullseye.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68

Caused me to write an article to question it even though 2008 was still some pretty optimistic times for the Texans.

The most successful move during Smith's tenure (trading for Matt Schaub) is one that may be more largely credited to Kubiak than Smith.

From that article:

I'll give Smith some credit, as he has done three things rather well.
1. He was hired after Charley Casserly was shown the door. Not a tough act to follow, is it? I think the first two years of another Charley Casserly would look terrific after the first one.

2. Smith has worked the Bronco network, getting hired by the team employing Gary Kubiak, hiring a Denver scout to head up the Texans scouting department and perpetuating what has been a fairly successful system in the NFL the past decade. Kudos for Smith, but really, the praise here belongs more to Kubiak.

3. Smith has McNair for a boss, the same forgiving man who kept David Carr around one year (and $13 million) too long, and who has allowed his team to spend big, misguided money much earlier than needed, like with the contract extension given to Domanick Davis more than a year before his rookie deal expired.

Ecch. If Kubiak goes, Smith should go with him.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I don't think we are 5 years of rebuilding bad like we were when Casserly and Capers left. Right now we have talent but that talent is under achieving, and that usually points to coaching, especially Head Coaching. It is the job of the HC to motivate the team, and this group of guys does not have the fire they need to win.

Bring in a guy to tweak this team now.

It's sad, McNair needs to blow up this front office and coaching staff. Give them the boot. All of them. Clean house.

Go hire Parchells to run this team.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by painekiller

It's sad, McNair needs to blow up this front office and coaching staff. Give them the boot. All of them. Clean house.

Go hire Parchells to run this team.

Chiefs were 4-12 last year, they picked #5 overall in Aprils Draft, but yesterday they had their 10th win of this season, won their AFC West division, and are in the playoffs next month.

[Joshua]

NTB, I'm curious why you think if will take five years to be successful if you fire everybody. I'm not trying to pick on you but it seems like this is something you just made up and isn't actually based on anything. Looking around the league I see nothing that supports this conclusion. Just off the top of my head, I can think of a number of pretty terrible teams that turned it around in a season or two by hiring the right guy (Bucs, Rams, Jets, Chiefs, Saints, Falcons, etc.). And I can't think of any team in the last decade that finally had success after "rebuilding" for 5-plus years.

[HPF Bob]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Chiefs were 4-12 last year, they picked #5 overall in Aprils Draft, but yesterday they had their 10th win of this season, won their AFC West division, and are in the playoffs next month.

Yes, but this isn't your father's AFC West. It's a pretty dysfunctional division right now. Even though the Colts have taken a step back this year, the AFC South seems a much tougher division to win than the AFC West has been lately.

Of course, you could cite the Bengals who were crap in 2008, won their division in 2009 and are back to crap again in 2010.