If McNair doesn't do something tomorrow he's a fool.

[Nighthawk]

This team is gone, signed out, in the cloakroom, returned to sender, etc. No way to accept for another day the poor coaching and leadership here. McNair should fire Capers AND Casserly tomorrow and put Almost Anybody in as caretaker coach. Then he should declare the search for the new coach and GM open and pray to God Jimmy Johnson will meet with him. If Jimmy won't take the job, then maybe he can help McNair figure out who might.

[Scott D]

I'm getting sick and tired of poor excuses as to why they are losing. As I said before. The coach says that they are not executing. Well? What are you doing about it? Dom says nothing. It's as if he doesn't care.

[Grid]

No way to accept for another day the poor coaching and leadership here

yes fire them and hire one of the hundreds of future hall of fame coaches that every other team in the league has stupidly not hired.


firing Capers right now would benefit no body. It would only serve as a symbolic move to show the bloodthirsty fanbase that changes will be made.

Personally.. im not a big fan of useless symbolism. Changes will come, I can wait until it is the best time to do so.

[Heywood]

mcnair's at home counting his enron money.

[J-Storm]

Originally Posted by Scott D

I'm getting sick and tired of poor excuses as to why they are losing. As I said before. The coach says that they are not executing. Well? What are you doing about it? Dom says nothing. It's as if he doesn't care.

It's obv he doesn't care when he saw what 'Dre did by giving up the penalty that took us out of field goal range. He patted him on the shoulder and looked at him as if to say "It's ok Andre! I know how you feel. B & C (Bob and Chuck) are like that with me all the time". Could you imagine how Belichik or Cowher would have handled 'Dre's little anger management session. He would have been lucky to play the rest of the half! That's what makes me mad (and sick, probably more sick) about this team. There is just no emotion or pride about the coaches (apart from our ST coach). Gimme something Dom, lie to me, but try to at least make me believe you!!!

[Malloy]

McNair said that he would not make any changes now as the off-season was the time for that. he did mention that both players and coaches are under contract and that the team is not playing as it's supposed to. Relax all, changes ARE coming...

[touttail]

Originally Posted by Scott D

I'm getting sick and tired of poor excuses as to why they are losing. As I said before. The coach says that they are not executing. Well? What are you doing about it? Dom says nothing. It's as if he doesn't care.

Poor excuses?
Capers stated that the Texans had poor execution. That's what he says every blooming game. What more do you want?

bobby 119C:brickwall

[Wharton]

Actually, there are some benefits to taking action now.

1. It gets the process started - I am sure hiring a coach/GM is a hard decision and the more time you have to market the position and analyze the candidates the more comfortable your choice will be for you at the time you make the choice. The longer Mr. McNair has to perform due diligence, the better the decision he can make. Only time will tell if you have made a good choice.

2. Opening the position/marketing - By formally starting the search for replacements early, all possibilities will be evaluated (the early bird gets the worm so to speak). Mr. McNair will be able to talk to JJ and other candidates before other teams have a chance to approach him with other job offers.

3. Tough decisions now - Like it or not, there are some tough decisions to be made now, in particular David Carr's contract, which from what I have read on this board expires at the end of the season. It would be better to have the future GM/coach make this decision then be saddled with an expensive player that he may not want.

4. A message to the fans - as you can tell by reading this board, the fan base is disgusted with this team right now. Half of the fans attending the game last night were in the parking lot by half time, and from what I could tell about 10% was left after the third quarter. Fan booing was harsh on several occasions. An action now may help keep the fans in the seats longer during the final home games, which means more concession and ancillary sales for the team.

5. Sending a message to the players - this team was lethargic during last nights game, and that the nicest way I can put it. Many players are going through the motions just to collect a paycheck. By firing the Coach/GM, Mr. McNair would send a message to the players about keeping their jobs this season and next.

Anyway, this post is getting little long winded, so I'll stop now. Every decision has an action and a reaction, while I think I have made some good points here, there will and should be other opinions so ya'll fire away.

[Malloy]

Originally Posted by Wharton

5. Sending a message to the players - this team was lethargic during last nights game, and that the nicest way I can put it. Many players are going through the motions just to collect a paycheck. By firing the Coach/GM, Mr. McNair would send a message to the players about keeping their jobs this season and next.

Good points, good post. On #5, what I heard Mcnair say(postgame comment broadcasted this morning on 610), was that both coaches AND players were on contracts, IMO hinting that if coaches can get fired, so can players. The last 6 games of the season will be all about players trying to show what they are capable of, if thy want to keep their jobs. I would not be surprised if Mcnair cleans out house real good and gives a new HC 2-3 years to turn it all around.

[Buffi2]

Originally Posted by Grid

Personally.. im not a big fan of useless symbolism.

I'm not sure that firing the coaches would be useless symbolism. Forget the fans for the moment and think about the players.

Obviously, this team doesn't have their heart or their brain in the game - they are just going through the motions and not very good motions at that. A coaching change now could put new life into the players - or at least a small breath.

I don't know that they would play any better under a new coach - but they sure couldn't play any worse -so what the devil? I say make the change now and see what happens. It seems silly to continue to dance with the one who brung you when he brung you to being the worst team in the nfl.

McNair saying changes are coming is great - but denial plays a big part in all of our lives. If a change is made now - reality just might cause a few players to put their heart and brain into the game. At the very least, they wouldn't be lined up at the door asking to be traded.

[HomeBred_Texan]

A post like this can show the difference in opinions we all have. It would do nothing but harm and costs more money than it's worth to hire someone now. We need to ride out this season the best we can and then hire the best available personel at the end. You can't get the head coach we need in the middle of a season. They are under contract.

But when Capers decided to go for a field goal instead of a TD with a 4th and 4 and down by 17, well let's just say me and another 1,000 fans got up and walked out....

[Malloy]

Originally Posted by Buffi2

I don't know that they would play any better under a new coach - but they sure couldn't play any worse -so what the devil? I say make the change now and see what happens. It seems silly to continue to dance with the one who brung you when he brung you to being the worst team in the nfl.

Things might already have happened, as fans we don't have the insight we all would love to have. For all I know Capers is already fired at the end of the season and Mcnair is already looking for new coaches. Thing is, we just don't know. I will say this, if I were Mcnair I would not fire away during the season, it looks like a panic-move, emotional and unprofessional, something that does not look good with investors. Two worlds, what you say, and what you do. We only get the one.

[ATX_Texan]

It would do nothing but harm and costs more money than it's worth to hire someone now. We need to ride out this season the best we can and then hire the best available personel at the end. You can't get the head coach we need in the middle of a season. They are under contract.

Nobody is saying that we can get Capers' replacement at this time. The bottom line is that this team has many, many problems and Capers is the biggest one at this time. As it was described in one of the posts above, you allow the search to begin right now when you fire Capers. If it is certain that you will fire Capers, then let the lame duck go now. You do him and the whole organization a disservice if you act like everything is fine in public, while you are going behind his back and preparing to hire another coach behind close doors. In addition, there are really important personnel decisions that need to be made. If Capers is not going to be here, why should we waste time getting his input.

I think letting the special team coach take over now will certainly not hurt anything. You put him in a no lose situation. If the team tanks, no one will blame him. If he does well by some miracle, it will help his career. Just having some head coaching experience has to be a positive thing.

The fans that are true blue don't care who is running the team and how bad they play. The band wagoners are long gone. This move gives the people on the fence a reason to be interested in the rest of this lost season.

[cadahnic]

I think the players and Coaches understand that they are all fighting for jobs right now. Most of the lower coaches are likely looking for jobs elsewhere. The players are also have their agents getting their finances in order for the upcoming FA off-season. It is gonna be alot of house cleaning this off-season. I dont think you can really do anything right now but wait till the offseason. I am still gonna get up every sunday and saturday excited about Texans football, but my excitement will be when the season actually starts for us and that is the first day of the off-season.

[houstonhurricane]

To be frank, prior to last night I was leaning more toward canning Casserly and potentially giving Caper's another shot. However, I have to agree that he lost this team as they play foolishly and without emotion. I think it would be a wise move to put in an interim coach who wouldn't worry about making "smart" decisions during the close of a 1-9 season...

Why did we have our starters in during the last few drives? Why not give the backups a chance to prove they deserve some playing time - including Banks and Ragone? Why in the heck would we go for a field goal on fourth and goal from the four and then use a timeout to get there? Too many poor decisions and allowing the team to fall apart without any threat of benchings, etc.

[playoff year please]

Originally Posted by HomeBred_Texan

A post like this can show the difference in opinions we all have. It would do nothing but harm and costs more money than it's worth to hire someone now. We need to ride out this season the best we can and then hire the best available personel at the end. You can't get the head coach we need in the middle of a season. They are under contract.

But when Capers decided to go for a field goal instead of a TD with a 4th and 4 and down by 17, well let's just say me and another 1,000 fans got up and walked out....

There were 1000 fans left at that time?

[eriadoc]

Originally Posted by Wharton

Actually, there are some benefits to taking action now.

1. It gets the process started - I am sure hiring a coach/GM is a hard decision and the more time you have to market the position and analyze the candidates the more comfortable your choice will be for you at the time you make the choice. The longer Mr. McNair has to perform due diligence, the better the decision he can make. Only time will tell if you have made a good choice.

The process is probably already started. Backdoor deals and undisclosed discussions happen all the time in the NFL (other sports too). Furthermore, everyone knows the Texans will be hiring a new coach after the season, so anyone who wants to be a candidate is already aware.

Originally Posted by Wharton

3. Tough decisions now - Like it or not, there are some tough decisions to be made now, in particular David Carr's contract, which from what I have read on this board expires at the end of the season. It would be better to have the future GM/coach make this decision then be saddled with an expensive player that he may not want.

More than likely, McNair will hire a coach whose outlook on David Carr matches his own. There is also the notion around the league that Carr still has a lot of potential if he gets sufficient protection. There are no doubt a number of coaches who feel that they can rehabilitate Carr with good protection schemes and some solid coaching. Think about this, regarding Carr's coaching - he's had two voices in his ear for most of his career. First it was Capers and Palmer sending different messages and wanting to play two different styles of ball and then Capers handed off to Pendry. Once Palmer was gone, Pendry has taken everything away from Carr. This guy's coaching has left a lot to be desired. There will be coaches that relish the idea of working with Carr. You can teach mental; you can't teach physical.

Originally Posted by Wharton

4. A message to the fans - as you can tell by reading this board, the fan base is disgusted with this team right now. Half of the fans attending the game last night were in the parking lot by half time, and from what I could tell about 10% was left after the third quarter. Fan booing was harsh on several occasions. An action now may help keep the fans in the seats longer during the final home games, which means more concession and ancillary sales for the team.

As a PSL/season ticket holder, I definitely feel like McNair should answer directly to me. However, that selfish part of me also realizes that, for all my message board analysis, I am not qualified to make decisions for this team. So I'll have to accept the decisions that McNair makes and respond with my pocketbook. What I am trying to say is ... there's a certain amount of responsibility to the fans, but most fans overstate it. No message needs to be sent to the fans in this instance.

Originally Posted by Wharton

5. Sending a message to the players - this team was lethargic during last nights game, and that the nicest way I can put it. Many players are going through the motions just to collect a paycheck. By firing the Coach/GM, Mr. McNair would send a message to the players about keeping their jobs this season and next.

The players are more than likely going to be of the opinion that coaches don't go out and execute the game plan, therefore Capers doesn't deserve to be fired. It's not like the players are sitting around behind closed doors saying "Man! Does McNair even care? When's he going to fire Capers?".

[WWJD]

I don't see any point in bringing in a new coach right now....if they do and they lose all the rest of their games then the fans and media will be screaming that the new guy is a major loser and you're back to square one.

Best to do the hiring over the offseason; give the new regime plenty of time to size up the draft and who they want to target and everybody start on the same page next year.

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by WWJD

I don't see any point in bringing in a new coach right now....if they do and they lose all the rest of their games then the fans and media will be screaming that the new guy is a major loser and you're back to square one.

Best to do the hiring over the offseason; give the new regime plenty of time to size up the draft and who they want to target and everybody start on the same page next year.

I think hanging on to Capers is a huge mistake. Instead of giving our youngsters like Morency, Wand and/or Ragone some snaps (at least in the 4th quarter in a blowout) and some experience in a lost season we will continue to roll out this same tired cast of "veterans" that we know what we have in them. Caper's isn't worried about looking at our youngsters for next season because only a fool would think he is coming back.

[Malloy]

Originally Posted by Vinny

I think hanging on to Capers is a huge mistake. Instead of giving our youngsters like Morency, Wand and/or Ragone some snaps (at least in the 4th quarter in a blowout) and some experience in a lost season we will continue to roll out this same tired cast of "veterans" that we know what we have in them. Caper's isn't worried about looking at our youngsters for next season because only a fool would think he is coming back.

But whether he stays or not, it is still in his own interest to portray himself as someone with coaching abilities, try players out, play the professional role of coach EVEN if he knows he'll be gone. If he comes out and says, screw it, I'll be gone next year so F you all, then he won't ever get another job, ever