Town Hall Conference Call: Bob McNair

[Wolf]

If you wonder how the Texans' draft process works and how responsibility is divided among coaches/scouts etc., Texans owner Bob McNair explains that and more in this interview

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/ar...d-a4fc9e208afd

didn't see this posted, but if so, please merge

this was posted on facebook

[Wolf]

McNair: The way we’re organized is that Rick is responsible for the personnel. He has the scouting department – I forget exactly what we have, 14 scouts, I think, something like that – and they’re out scouting in colleges all during the year. Plus, we have four pro scouts that scout all the other teams in the league, the other 31 teams. And so, they have been working on this all along. They’ll start preparing their draft board. And what I mean by that is, they’ll start ranking all of the players and put them up on the board in our war room, and we’ll have every player that’s going to be in the draft, at the end of the day we’ll have every one of them ranked. And then we’ll also have them ranked by position.

Then we have the coaches come in, and we have them look at the cut-ups on the players. Then they’ll determine what they view to be the best players at the different positions. Then the two groups come together and then we have a discussion and a debate and reach an agreement.

And even though Rick has the authority and the responsibility for personnel, he knows that he can’t go out and select players that coaches don’t want, because if he does, they’re not going to play them, and that doesn’t help us win. So he’s got to get players that the coaches want.

So one of the things they try to do is they try to get the coaches to describe the player that they want. (For example), Bill Kollar, ‘Bill, what do you want for your defensive tackle? Describe the defensive tackle that you want us to look for. What do you want in the way of the defensive end?’ And then linebackers, Reggie Herring will tell ‘em what he wants and what he looks for in an (outside linebacker) and the things that are important to him and the things that aren’t so important. So we try to do that so the scouts have a good idea not only of the players that are out there, but what the coaches prefer and what they’re looking for in the player.

So once we go through that whole process and we get our board set, then we have the draft day. On draft day, Rick leads the draft, but basically he and Gary are working (together) as players come off the board…There will be 10 players taken off the board before we have a chance to pick. Now, will those be the 10 players that we had ranked 1-10? I doubt it. There will always be some surprises in there. There always are. So there will be somebody still left on the board that we weren’t expecting, and there will be somebody that we thought that would be available on the board that won’t be there.

So we will then have all of our people in the room, our coaches and our scouts, and we’ll look at the board and the best player that’s available and we have several positions, not just one, but several positions, primarily on the defensive side of the ball, that we’re most interested in. And we’ll determine who is the best player available at any one of those positions and we’ll have a debate in the room.

We’ll ask people to show their preference and have a show of hands one player versus another one and listen to what they have to say. Why do you want this guy? Why do you think he’s better than the other guy? And Rick will listen to that and he’ll lead that discussion and then he’ll get Gary to express his view after hearing everything. And Rick will tell him either he agrees with him or he doesn’t. And if he doesn’t agree, he’ll tell him why. And they’ll talk about that some more and then reach an agreement as to who we’re going to pick. And that’s the process. It’s an open process in which everyone has a chance to voice their opinion.

from the link

[Malloy]

Nice find, thanks!

18 scouts, wow, that seems like alot, cool nonetheless

[steelbtexan]

Originally Posted by Wolf

from the link

Sounds to me Gary gets his choice on picks and Rick runs the draft board.

Of all of the hands/voices in the war room I hope Phillips carries the most weight.

Hopefully Phillips says look Gary/Rick, BoB hired me to fix the defense and I need these 3-4 guys to do the job I was hired to do.

Trade up or trade down,trade players already on the roster it really matter how Phillips ends up with the guys he wants. Just as long as he gets who he needs to improve this putrid defense.

[GP]

So, in the span of just a few minutes....when it's our turn to pick....there's a conversation, and a show of hands on who each person wants, and then a yes or no by Rick Smith, and an answer from Rick as to why, and then Gary gets to have a rebuttal, and everyone gets a say in the matter, and the pick is made?

That's a lot to happen in just a few minutes of time, IMO.

I don't know, guys. Why would he reveal this information? What, in the history of this team, has ever led us to think they would openly share their process? I'm not saying the whole thing is fake, but I have doubts about key pieces of information in it.

1. We would all "expect" that the coach gets his players, since a GM grabbing players might end up backfiring if the coach doesn't want those GM-chosen players.

2. We would all "expect" that they prepare a draft board in the manner described. No shocker there.

3. I just wonder how the ACTUAL pick, when it's being decided upon during our turn on the clock, is handled. The description given just seems too picture-perfect to me. "Everyone gets a chance to add their input, a show of hands is made, Rick shares his opinion, Gary his, etc., and the player is picked."

Not nitpicking the whole thing here, but just a bit distrusting of the last part of it pertaining to making the actual pick. I guess it shows that Gary is likely to be able to pick the player he wants, when it's all said and done, and the GM is there to play devil's advocate? If so, then Rick Smith is not nearly as important on draft day as he's been made out to be by certain people here.

[steelbtexan]

Originally Posted by GP

So, in the span of just a few minutes....when it's our turn to pick....there's a conversation, and a show of hands on who each person wants, and then a yes or no by Rick Smith, and an answer from Rick as to why, and then Gary gets to have a rebuttal, and everyone gets a say in the matter, and the pick is made?

That's a lot to happen in just a few minutes of time, IMO.

I don't know, guys. Why would he reveal this information? What, in the history of this team, has ever led us to think they would openly share their process? I'm not saying the whole thing is fake, but I have doubts about key pieces of information in it.

1. We would all "expect" that the coach gets his players, since a GM grabbing players might end up backfiring if the coach doesn't want those GM-chosen players.

2. We would all "expect" that they prepare a draft board in the manner described. No shocker there.

3. I just wonder how the ACTUAL pick, when it's being decided upon during our turn on the clock, is handled. The description given just seems too picture-perfect to me. "Everyone gets a chance to add their input, a show of hands is made, Rick shares his opinion, Gary his, etc., and the player is picked."

Not nitpicking the whole thing here, but just a bit distrusting of the last part of it pertaining to making the actual pick. I guess it shows that Gary is likely to be able to pick the player he wants, when it's all said and done, and the GM is there to play devil's advocate? If so, then Rick Smith is not nearly as important on draft day as he's been made out to be by certain people here.

Yeah, I could see the process playing out this way in the 1st rd. (What about a trade up/down scenerio) But I dont believe it works the way BoB describes it in rds 3-7. There's not enough time for the consensus war room pick.

If I'm wrong and they do the consensus pick thing in rds 3-7. That helps explain the reason the Texans have done such a poor job of drafting.

[Texanmike02]

And, of course, Gary Kubiak, everybody in the league will tell you, if you talk to any of the coaches or the people that really know what’s going on, that he has got one of the best offensive minds in the league. They all respected our offense and knew it was very explosive. And to be able to match him up with Wade Phillips, I think is the right combination. And Gary has a lot of confidence in Wade, as I do. And he’s going to let Wade design the defense.

So anyone who wants to know why we kept Gary?

Mike

[drs23]

Originally Posted by GP

So, in the span of just a few minutes....when it's our turn to pick....there's a conversation, and a show of hands on who each person wants, and then a yes or no by Rick Smith, and an answer from Rick as to why, and then Gary gets to have a rebuttal, and everyone gets a say in the matter, and the pick is made?

That's a lot to happen in just a few minutes of time, IMO.

I don't know, guys. Why would he reveal this information? What, in the history of this team, has ever led us to think they would openly share their process? I'm not saying the whole thing is fake, but I have doubts about key pieces of information in it.

1. We would all "expect" that the coach gets his players, since a GM grabbing players might end up backfiring if the coach doesn't want those GM-chosen players.

2. We would all "expect" that they prepare a draft board in the manner described. No shocker there.

3. I just wonder how the ACTUAL pick, when it's being decided upon during our turn on the clock, is handled. The description given just seems too picture-perfect to me. "Everyone gets a chance to add their input, a show of hands is made, Rick shares his opinion, Gary his, etc., and the player is picked."

Not nitpicking the whole thing here, but just a bit distrusting of the last part of it pertaining to making the actual pick. I guess it shows that Gary is likely to be able to pick the player he wants, when it's all said and done, and the GM is there to play devil's advocate? If so, then Rick Smith is not nearly as important on draft day as he's been made out to be by certain people here.

I dunno GP. Kinda sounds like nitpicking to me. I thought McNair's explanation of how things were run in the war room was a very direct answer to questions posed by many here on numerous occasions. I think he answered the "I just wonder how the ACTUAL pick" question honestly. I personally didn't perceive any deception there. Is that what your implying?

[thunderkyss]

Sounds to me like McNair has learned a lot about football.

[GP]

Originally Posted by Texanmike

So anyone who wants to know why we kept Gary?

Mike

One of the greatest offensive minds has got a lot of explaining to do, in terms of consistently failing to get his offense "in gear" until Quarter 4 of each game.

One of the greatest offensive minds needs to explain why he takes the ball out of Foster's hands at crucial times at the end of games. And I don't want any of the speculative bullhonkie about how "the opposing defense was shutting the run down and Gary began exploiting the defense's secondary." Bull. Foster is arguably unstoppable right now.

One of the greatest offensive minds kept Chris Brown & Kris Brown, with the most glaring retention being KRIS Brown who tanked it and crashed and burned at the end of the 2009 season...only to have one of the greatest offensive minds actually produce a REAL kicker's competition? He should have benched his ass and brought in Joe Street to finish out the rest of the season. Kris Brown freaking shanked an EXTRA POINT at the end of the season, for crying out loud. Then, he should have handed Rackers the job outright--No shenanigans. But the loyal-to-a-fault head coach couldn't bring himself to do it that way. There had to be the appearance of utmost gentile gamesmanship extended...because Kris was here for so long (cue the violins).

I could go on, the point is that designing an offense and carrying it to its fullest potential are two different things entirely. Yes, Gary Kubiak has designed a good offense. Is it where it should be, after having five full years of implementing it and securing the players he wants for it? I don't think so. It ought to be starting strong and finishing strong, I'm talking about Peyton Manning-type of start-to-finish domination where we never let off the pedal and we are blowing teams out early.

If he's one of the greatest offensive minds right now, he needs to get that offense playing consistently GREAT. I'm a hardass that way. In year 10, this team needs to do something different--Not do the same thing differently.

If Wade's defense comes together, but the offense is still brainfarting through three quarters of football...then his legacy will be "Great designer of offenses, lousy game day coach."

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by GP

If he's one of the greatest offensive minds right now, he needs to get that offense playing consistently GREAT. I'm a hardass that way. In year 10, this team needs to do something different--Not do the same thing differently.

I do agree with this. Since Kubiak came, I thought our offense would be averaging in the upper 20s... over 25 ppg. I thought our best defense would be our offense, get to an early lead, put pressure on the other team to score, take away their run game.....

Take away the Patriots offensive efficiency, I'd like to see how many points that defense would allow.

[EllisUnit]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

I do agree with this. Since Kubiak came, I thought our offense would be averaging in the upper 20s... over 25 ppg. I thought our best defense would be our offense, get to an early lead, put pressure on the other team to score, take away their run game.....

Take away the Patriots offensive efficiency, I'd like to see how many points that defense would allow.

This is the first season i remember our offense starting off so slow under Kubiak, i could be wrong but i never remember it being as bad as it was last season.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by EllisUnit

This is the first season i remember our offense starting off so slow under Kubiak, i could be wrong but i never remember it being as bad as it was last season.

Last year, too many turnovers.

I'm not saying what we saw in 2010 was the norm. Just saying that offense had issues.

The defense, definitely the biggest problem. Not the only problem.

[EllisUnit]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Last year, too many turnovers.

I'm not saying what we saw in 2010 was the norm. Just saying that offense had issues.

The defense, definitely the biggest problem. Not the only problem.

yeah we had issuse, but even with the same offense as last year and a D ranked in the low 20s we should be able to make a splash in the play-offs. A few good CBs, maybe a Safety and i can see our D going from dead last to atleast in the 12-18 range.

[Dishman]

Originally Posted by EllisUnit

yeah we had issuse, but even with the same offense as last year and a D ranked in the low 20s we should be able to make a splash in the play-offs. A few good CBs, maybe a Safety and i can see our D going from dead last to atleast in the 12-18 range.

Take a look at the offensive and defensive rankings for 2009. If what you say is true then we should have already made that splash in the playoffs.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by GP

That's a lot to happen in just a few minutes of time, IMO.

No kidding. It looks like the Texans indecisiveness spills over from the field into the war room. BTW, who is working the phones?

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Sounds to me like McNair has learned a lot about football.

It's not evident in the product.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by EllisUnit

This is the first season i remember our offense starting off so slow under Kubiak, i could be wrong but i never remember it being as bad as it was last season.

The year before, the Texans were commonly playing half a game, whether the D or the O. We never knew for sure who would show up which half.

[CloakNNNdagger]

I wonder how proud McNair would be if he were graded on his field-related performance using similar parameters that GMs, coaches and players are graded. (........And I would have to exclude OUR Gm, coaches and players from the usual evaluation process, because it has not followed very classic system logic thus far.)

[VTexan]

at least andre johnson was a good pick

[ChampionTexan]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Last year, too many turnovers.

Very poorly timed turnovers perhaps, but too many? We were tied for fourth fewest turnovers in the league last year with 18.

Two of the biggest problems we had (and they're somewhat inter-related) were not forcing turnovers (we had the 4th fewest turnovers in the league and wound up at net -0- for the year), and giving a short field too often and not getting one often enough.

The second one is partially a result of the first one, but also, a result of a below average punter, below average coverage teams, and below average return teams. Basically, with the exception of Rackers, our ST totally sucked in everything they did!

And I agree that the offense wasn't perfect, but it was definitely superior to the other two phases of the game. We've essentially assigned Wade the job of fixing the Defense, and hopefully via draft and free agency (when and if there is free agency) will give him the resources he needs to do so. I'm still waiting to find out why I'm even supposed to think the special teams are going to get better.

I hope we replace Turk, and get coach Joe to show us last year was an aberration, and not a signal that he's losing his touch.