Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are "working to set up" a second interview with Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon for their head coaching vacancy, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic.

ESPN's Dan Graziano also reported Friday that Gannon did very well in his first interview, to the point where he may be the "current frontrunner" for the Texans' gig.

"One of the hottest names out there is that of Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who I'm told made a very strong impression in his interview with the Texans and is considered by some in that building to be the current front-runner for the job," Graziano wrote.

NFL reporter Aaron Wilson offered similar sentiments:

Gannon is a hot name during this year's hiring cycle, with Zach Berman of The Athletic reporting that the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and Texans had all spoken with him about being their next head coach.

The 39-year-old Gannon just completed his first year as the Eagles defensive coordinator. He worked as the Indianapolis Colts defensive backs coach from 2018-2020, and then Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni brought him along to Philadelphia when he was named the Eagles' head coach.

The Eagles finished No. 18 in the NFL in scoring defense (22.6 points allowed per game). The unit finished No. 25 in Football Outsiders' DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) metric.

The Texans are looking to replace David Culley, who went 4-13 in his lone season as Houston's head coach before the organization decided to part ways with the 66-year-old.

Per Sarah Barshop of ESPN, the Texans have spoken with Gannon, Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, former NFL quarterback Josh McCown, ex-Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores and Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Hines Ward for the head coaching job.

The Houston Texans announced Thursday that longtime NFL quarterback Josh McCown interviewed for the team's head coaching vacancy. 

It's the second offseason in a row the team interviewed him for the position. 

McCown, 42, played for the Arizona Cardinals (2002-05), Detroit Lions (2006), Oakland Raiders (2007), Carolina Panthers (2008-09), the UFL's Hartford Colonials (2010), Chicago Bears (2011-13), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014), Cleveland Browns (2015-16), New York Jets (2017-18) and Philadelphia Eagles (2019) in his professional career. 

The journeyman quarterback threw for 17,731 yards, 98 touchdowns and 82 interceptions, completing 60.2 percent of his passes.

McCown has exactly zero experience coaching at either the NFL or college level, however, and if he went from an NFL career and a few seasons coaching at the high school level to an NFL head coaching position, it would raise more than a few eyebrows. 

"Whenever I finally take the cleats off, I definitely see [coaching] in the future," McCown told reporters last year. "They (Texans) understand, as did Eagles and everybody else , that I'm definitely interested in that."

The Texans are clearly casting a very wide net in search of a replacement for David Culley, who was only given one season on the job after leading a depleted roster to a 4-13 record. 

Thus far, they've interviewed former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, Florida Atlantic assistant and former NFL wideout Hines Ward, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and have requested to interview Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell.

Like McCown, Ward's name was a surprising one among the candidates given his complete lack of head coaching experience or experience coaching in the NFL. 

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said Tuesday he'd consider trading the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Caserio explained his mindset about this year's draft during an appearance on SportsRadio 610 (via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com):

Absolutely. Always open for business. You never want to limit yourself. I've always been open-minded when it comes to the draft. ... Every team and every individual has a different philosophy. 'We're not gonna trade, we're always going to pick, we're not going to move.' I think we're a little bit more open-minded, progressive thinking, move up and down. And it's not just move to move.

The Texans are coming off a 4-13 season to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year. They posted a 4-12 mark in 2020.

Houston played the entire campaign without quarterback Deshaun Watson, who remained on the team's active roster but was declared inactive on gamedays amid investigations into 22 civil lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints filed against him by women alleging sexual assault and misconduct.

Rookie third-round pick Davis Mills received a majority of the playing time to fill the void under center, and he put together a solid year, completing 66.8 percent of his throws for 2,664 yards with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across 13 appearances.

In a year without a standout quarterback prospect, the Texans may opt to give Mills another season to prove himself while trying to upgrade their roster in other areas.

Caserio noted on SportsRadio 610 there are several different factors to consider with potentially moving the No. 3 pick:

Trades, specific to the draft, are always driven by A) player availability, B) where are you moving, what are you moving away from, and then C) what are you getting in return in terms of assets that can potentially fill out the rest of your team. So we're rolling up our sleeves right now, going through that draft process. There's a number of a good players that will be available. Again, we're open for business on anything.

If Thibodeaux and Hutchinson are both off the board by the time Houston is on the clock, the decision will likely come down to taking an offensive tackle or trading the pick.

Alabama's Evan Neal headlines a strong group of tackles and could be the choice if Houston stays put.

The Texans' roster needs quite a bit of work to get back into contention, however, so trading the No. 3 pick for multiple future assets could be the move. At minimum, it sounds like Caserio will do his due diligence in trying to find a trade that can help accelerate the team's rebuild.

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said on SportsRadio 610's Payne & Pendergast that quarterback Deshaun Watson "more than likely" has played his last game for the team.

"There's been some commentary that more than likely would not be the case," Caserio said when asked if there was any possibility of him coming back (16:00 mark). "I think we just have to be open-minded and just take the information and process it, then ultimately make the decision we feel makes the most sense for everybody involved, whatever that looks like."

Watson faces 22 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct and sexual assault during massage therapy sessions. The allegations were made public when the suits were filed beginning in March 2021.

Ten women, including two who have not filed civil lawsuits, have filed complaints to the Houston Police Department. The allegations are being investigated by Houston police, the NFL and the FBI.

The signal-caller had previously requested a trade from the Texans in January 2021. He did not play for the team during the 2021 season, with the Texans declaring Watson inactive each game.

The Texans selected the former Clemson star with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. He's made three Pro Bowl appearances and led the Texans to AFC South titles in 2018 and 2019 during his four-year stint as the team's starter.

Watson has also completed 67.8 percent of his passes and posted 121 touchdowns (104 passing, 17 rushing) during his career.

Prior to the 2020 season, Watson signed a four-year contract extension for $156 million ($73.716 million guaranteed).

The bottom fell out on the Texans in 2020, as the team went 4-12. Watson was exceptional, however, throwing for 33 touchdowns and completing an NFL-high 8.9 yards per pass attempt.

After the season, Watson's trade request was widely reported in late January, with ESPN's Adam Schefter noting earlier in the month that his anger level was a "10" after the team hired Caserio.

"Watson had been assured by McNair that he would be involved in the process to hire a new coach and general manager and kept in the loop on the progress in those searches, but that didn't happen," Schefter wrote.

Two months later, the allegations against Watson came to light. Now the Texans are at an organizational crossroads as they simultaneously map out their future and look for a head coach after firing David Culley following a 4-13 season.

The Houston Texans have requested permission to interview Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon for their head-coaching vacancy, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings have also reportedly requested interviews with Gannon.

The 39-year-old Gannon started his NFL career in 2007 as a defensive quality control coach for the Atlanta Falcons before spending three years (2009-11) as a scout for the St. Louis Rams. 

He then worked as a defensive quality control coach for the Tennessee Titans (2012-13), an assistant defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings (2014-17) and the cornerbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts (2018-20).

First-year head coach Nick Sirianni hired him to serve as the defensive coordinator for the Eagles this season. Under his watch, the Eagles finished 10th in yards allowed and 18th in points allowed.

While his bend-but-don't-break philosophy and an early aversion to blitzing earned him criticism in Philadelphia, the Eagles improved defensively as the season wore on. 

Sirianni told reporters in December that he believes Gannon has a future as a head coach:

"I think Jonathan would be an awesome head coach. I really wouldn't want to make a joke right there and be like, 'He'd be terrible,' because I really want to keep him here because I think so highly of him.

"But I think he would be awesome, again, for the same reasons that I hired him to be the defensive coordinator would be the same reasons I think he would be a really good head coach."

The Texans are seeking a head coach after firing David Culley last week after just one year on the job. Houston went 4-13, though given the lack of talent on the roster and Deshaun Watson's absence for the entire season, squeezing out four wins was arguably an achievement for Culley, not a failure.

The Houston Texans have interviewed former longtime NFL wide receiver Hines Ward for their head coaching vacancy, the team announced Saturday.

After his playing career, Ward coached two years for the New York Jets as an offensive assistant in 2019 and wide receivers coach in 2020. This past season he served as a special assistant to the head coach for Florida Atlantic.

Ward, 45, was a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion in his 14-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, catching 1,000 passes for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns. All three marks are franchise records.

But given his general inexperience in the coaching ranks, his interview was seen as something of a surprise:

The Texans have also interviewed former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores and Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Mike Lombardi for their head coaching vacancy.

Houston made the surprising decision to fire David Culley after just one season. Despite going just 4-13, Culley managed to squeeze four wins out of a depleted, talent-deficient roster.

That included being without star quarterback Deshaun Watson, who demanded a trade in the offseason and is currently the subject of 22 lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct and 10 criminal complaints. The NFL's investigation is ongoing.

So rookie Davis Mills, the team's 2021 third-round pick, emerged as the starter and played surprisingly well, throwing for 2,664 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 appearances (11 starts) while completing 66.8 percent of his passes.

Given his lack of weapons to work with—Rex Burkhead led the team in rushing (427 yards, three touchdowns), while Brandin Cooks (90 catches for 1,037 yards and six touchdowns) was the only receiver to exceed 500 receiving yards—it was a strong start to his NFL career.

But it wasn't enough to save Culley's job, and now the Texans are casting a very wide net in their search for a new head coach.

Several coaches and general managers reportedly believe former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is a "strong favorite" to become the next head coach of the Houston Texans, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.

"Flores interviewed with the Texans on Friday and there is a strong anticipation that a deal with Houston could come together very quickly," he wrote.

Flores has connections to Houston general manager Nick Caserio and executive Jack Easterby from their time with the New England Patriots. The 40-year-old joined the Patriots coaching staff in 2008 as a special teams assistant and served in various roles, including safeties coach and linebackers coach, before becoming Miami's head man in 2019.

In addition, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who did not play during the 2021 season, reportedly wanted to be moved to Miami to team up with Flores, and the Dolphins explored trading for the veteran signal-caller this season.

Watson faces 22 civil lawsuits that accuse him of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. He also faces 10 criminal complaints.

Before the allegations came to light, he requested a trade in January 2021.

One NFL executive even told La Canfora that hiring Flores could help the team hold on to Watson:

'I'm telling you, Nick is going to come out of this looking like a genius,' said one high-ranking NFL exec who knows Caserio well. 'He and Flores go way back. That is a perfect fit. And, it's going to help him keep that quarterback. Just watch. He doesn't have to trade him, he can ask for the moon, and Flores could help rebuild the relationships in the meantime. It just makes too much sense.'

However, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer and the Houston Chronicle's John McClain reported Thursday that Watson still has no plans to play for the team again despite its interest in Flores.

The coach was fired by the Dolphins on Monday after three seasons. It was a somewhat surprising move, as he had led the team to two straight winning campaigns for the first time since 2002 and 2003.

Flores finished his tenure in Miami with a 24-25 record.

In addition to the Texans, Flores interviewed with the Chicago Bears. He's also reportedly drawing interest from the New York Giants, per Pull Up's Jordan Schultz. He is expected to be one of the hottest head coaching candidates available this offseason.

The Texans are also reportedly interested in Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, among others, per Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network.

The Miami Dolphins are reportedly moving on from the idea of acquiring quarterback Deshaun Watson in a trade with the Houston Texans.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the chances of the Dolphins trading for Watson are "greatly diminished, if not gone" now that Brian Flores has been fired as head coach.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport added that the Dolphins organization believes in Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback, and he will be the starter in 2022 "barring some sort of unforeseen occurrence."

Miami was among the teams linked to Watson as a potential trade destination throughout the 2021 season, but there reportedly wasn't organization-wide interest in the move.

Schefter reported that it was Flores who wanted to explore a trade for Watson, while owner Stephen Ross was against it.

Conversely, ProFootballTalk reported that someone with knowledge of the situation said Ross was "obsessed" with the idea of trading for Watson.

Watson did not play at all in 2021. He requested a trade out of Houston in the offseason and then faced 24 allegations of sexual misconduct or assault from women he hired to perform massages, including 22 civil lawsuits and 10 police investigations.

Watson is set to be deposed in the civil lawsuits in February.

The 26-year-old Watson is among the top signal-callers in the NFL, with three Pro Bowl nods in four seasons.

The Texans only managed to finish 4-12 last season, but Watson enjoyed the best year of his career statistically, completing 70.2 percent of his passes for 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions while also rushing for 444 yards and three scores.

Watson led the Texans to the playoffs twice in his four seasons, beating the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round in 2019 before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.

While Watson is an elite talent, trading with him would come with risk due to the possibility of him facing league discipline or perhaps even jail time.

Instead, reports suggest Miami will roll with Tua, whom the Dolphins selected with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

As a rookie, Tagovailoa split time as the starter with Ryan Fitzpatrick and posted a 6-3 record for a Dolphins team that narrowly missed the playoffs despite going 10-6.

Expectations were sky-high for the Dolphins entering 2021, but a seven-game losing streak threw them off track. Miami became the first team in NFL history to have seven-game losing and winning streaks in the same season.

Ultimately, a loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 17 ended the Dolphins' playoff hopes, but they finished the season on a high note by beating the New England Patriots 33-24 in Week 18 to complete a 9-8 season.

All told, Tua went 7-5 as a starter and completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 2,653 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while also rushing for 128 yards and three scores.

In 2022, the Dolphins will look to gain ground on the Bills and Patriots, who both finished ahead of them in the AFC East in 2021.

The Chicago Bears and Houston Texans both announced that they have completed interviews with Brian Flores for their open head-coaching positions.

Flores' three-year tenure as the Miami Dolphins' head coach came to an end Monday.

Though Miami went 24-25 and failed to make the playoffs under Flores, the Dolphins are coming off back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since 2002-03.

Prior to his time in Miami, Flores worked on the New England Patriots' coaching staff from 2008-18, rising to the rank of linebackers coach in 2016. He took over defensive playcalling duties in his final season in Foxborough, which ended with the Pats earning a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

The 40-year-old Flores' firing in Miami seemed less to do with his performance and more in response to disagreements with the front office, with NFL Network's Ian Rapoport providing the scoop that there was "frustration and tension" between the coach and general manager Chris Grier.

The team began rebuilding from scratch in 2019 after a full housecleaning led to general manager Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Adam Gase's exits. Despite that, Flores led a scrappy 2019 team to a 5-4 finish after an 0-7 start.

The 2020 Dolphins were far better, winning twice as many games and finding themselves with a win-and-in opportunity to go to the playoffs had they beat the Buffalo Bills in Week 17. Miami ultimately lost 56-26 and missed out on the postseason.

Still, hope sprang eternal for 2021 after a successful campaign that featured Miami finishing No. 6 in scoring defense. However, a disastrous seven-game losing streak dropped Miami to 1-7 early as anything that could go wrong did for a Dolphins team that looked like one of the worst in the league.

Miami's defense (coupled with an excellent breakout performance from rookie Jaylen Waddle), though, guided the Fins to a seven-game win streak. Flores' Dolphins allowed just 11.7 points per game during that span.

In doing so, they became the first team in NFL history to have a seven-game winning streak and a seven-game losing streak in the same season, per Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN Sports & Info).

Unfortunately, another blowout loss (34-3 to the Tennessee Titans) knocked Miami from playoff contention. Miami still finished on a high note, defeating the Pats for the third straight time.

Flores' teams may have struggled offensively (No. 25, No. 15 and No. 22 in scoring from 2019-2021, respectively), but the Dolphins played hard and never gave up.

Miami has also been a winning team for two years, and Flores showed his ability to turn around a franchise that had won nine or more games just three times from 2004-2018 prior to his arrival.

In sum, Flores could be a great fit anywhere, especially if he brings along a stout offensive coaching staff.

The Houston Texans fired head coach David Culley on Thursday after just one season, but general manager Nick Caserio was quick to praise the 66-year-old and credited him for helping dig the franchise out of a "rough" spot. 

Caserio told reporters Friday:

"I would say when you rewind here and go back to a year ago ... I'd say the organization was in a pretty rough spot, and I think from where we were then to where we are now, we're in a lot better position. And quite frankly, I think that's because of the leadership and the guidance and the direction that David Culley brought in this football team."

In a statement on Thursday, Caserio said he fired Culley because of "philosophical differences" about the long-term direction and vision for the Texans moving forward.

The second-year GM would not go into details on those differences Friday, but he said it was something he felt he needed to do "that was in the best interest of the organization."

To be fair, Culley should at least receive some credit. Some predicted the Texans would win just one game in 2021. They ended up going 4-13 with rookie quarterback Davis Mills under center. 

Quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is facing 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and inappropriate behavior, sat out the 2021 season after requesting a trade. In addition, the Texans traded defensive end J.J. Watt to the Arizona Cardinals before the season began and made many other changes in the midst of a rebuild. 

The Texans also had two very impressive wins over playoff-bound teams, defeating the Tennessee Titans 22-13 in November and the Los Angeles Chargers 41-29 in December. Mills showed a lot of promise in those games and throughout the season, which was a pleasant surprise for the franchise. 

Caserio also told reporters Friday that he doesn't have a time frame to hire a new head coach and said the Texans would be "very deliberate" with the process. However, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo have been linked to the position this week.