(SportsRadio 610) - These last couple of games have been the best of Texans head coach Lovie Smith and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.
Faced with an impossible situation, after both quarterbacks on the active roster failed to put them in position to win games, they flip flopped on starters before landing on a two-QB system.
It features second-year quarterback Davis Mills, their best passer, and fifth-year veteran Jeff Driskel, their best dual threat.
That was a difficult sentence to write, I have to be honest.
Nevertheless, Hamilton has found the right mix with Mills and Driskel, playing to both of their strengths in competitive losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.
The Texans had chances in both games within the final minutes, took the Chiefs to overtime and lost by a combined 10 points.
Defensively and on special teams, the Texans have recovered fumbles to set up touchdowns.
Tremon Smith, primarily a kick returner playing for the injured starting cornerback Steven Nelson, intercepted Dak Prescott twice. Once it was because M.J. Stewart, a backup safety, deflected a Prescott pass. The other time was when Obo Okoronkwo hit Prescott on the bicep, affecting his throw.
Against the Chiefs, hard hits from defensive end Mario Addison and Smith led to Kansas City fumbles, and subsequent Houston scores.
Point being, the Texans defense, for all its deficiencies, is taking to coaching. Lovie Smith preaches taking the ball away and the Texans defense is making a conscious effort to do it.
And the offense is moving the ball better than it had for about a month.
Before opening his postgame press conference for questions, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid went out of his way to praise Lovie Smith.
“My hat goes off to Lovie (Smith) for the great job he's done here,” Reid said of the Texans, 1-12-1. “I mean, you've seen it the last two weeks. It's a hard job, and it takes time as a head coach. And Lovie, my word of advice is just give him time. He's a tremendous football coach. I've had a chance to compete against him for a number of years and just rock-solid football teams.”
It’s fair to say this is not a rock-solid football team. They’ve put in rock-solid efforts against the Cowboys and Chiefs. They deserve credit for it.
Not just the effort, but the game plans as well.
Patrick Mahomes talked about the Texans’ defense getting through with blitzes the Chiefs had scouted, but were surprised to see so early in the game.
“Their front seven is good, really good. They got guys that can play. We knew that coming in. We could see that in the tape, especially with the Cowboys the week before. They did some blitzes. They blitzed a little more than I was expecting, but we finally got a handle on it a little bit in that second half. We were able to move the ball. But they got through with a few blitzes we had scouted, but we didn’t expect early in the game. They did a good job, like I said they’re well-coached.”
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That is high praise coming from two all-time greats in Reid and Mahomes, who went 36-of-41 for 336 passing yards, two touchdowns and a rushing score against Houston.
One would not expect anything less after a Super Bowl contender fights for an overtime win against the worst team in football.
The relevant question to ask is whether Smith and Hamilton should be back next year. It’s easy to justify firing a coaching staff after a one-win season, even if it’s their first.
The Texans would prefer not to have back-to-back one-and-done coaches and their fourth head coach in as many seasons.
It reeks of ineptitude and instability. It also reinforces some of the worst notions about this franchise: lack of vision, no direction.
General manager Nick Caserio has also railed against the idea of instant gratification and preached process over results in the past.
So how does he feel about the process that assuredly leads them to the No. 1 overall pick in 2023? Is it a good enough process to entrust that pick’s rookie year in those hands?
There is just still more evidence about this season that shows it wise to go in another direction.
Should Texans CEO and chairman Cal McNair still trust Caserio’s vision for making such decisions?
These are all tough questions to answer when you’re in this position, assuming being here wasn’t part of the plan all along.
It’s been a fun couple of weeks watching the Texans play football. But it will take more than a couple of try-hard games and compliments from a couple of legends to sell what the rebuild has been so far.
Houston’s two first-round rookies, cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and left guard Kenyon Green, were underwhelming in year one. They are still likely key pieces of the future.
More notably, the coaching hires have shown a lack of vision for what this rebuild is exactly supposed to be or look like. Whoever is responsible for that should be held accountable.
Reid and Mahomes are politicking. These last few games are empty calories in the grand scheme of things. It should not factor into whether the coaches stay or go, or whether the general manager stays or goes.
Every decision from now on should be made with the 2023 No. 1 overall pick in mind.
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Brandon Scott is the editor for SportsRadio610.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott. Reach him directly via email: brandon.scott@audacy.com.
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