JAXwithanX
Waterboy
Here is just a couple of excerpts I thought were interesting in -
Here's a name to watch for, albeit a few years down the road, as a potential head coach candidate in the league: Texans offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Troy Calhoun. Although he is entering just his fourth NFL season, Calhoun, 39, has gotten excellent reviews so far from Texans players to whom we have spoken. And word is that Calhoun has struck a quick rapport with Texans quarterback David Carr, who remains the key to the team's chances for improvement in both the short- and long-term. Calhoun accompanied Gary Kubiak from Denver, where he served as the assistant to the head coach. Since the perception will be that Kubiak is calling all the shots with the Houston offense this year, it might take a while for Calhoun to get some credit, but that will come in time, the players insist. Ironically, Kubiak suffered the same fate in Denver where, no matter what he did, most outsiders presumed that all the offensive strings were being pulled by Mike Shanahan.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the week is that, as of early Friday morning, Houston Texans officials had not yet commenced contract negotiations with Joel Segal, the agent for Southern California tailback Reggie Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner and presumptive top pick in the draft. Segal, Bush and marketing expert Mike Ornstein met with Texans officials last Thursday in Houston, and came away anticipating that discussions would begin this week. But after a couple casual discussions with Texans chief negotiator Dan Ferens early in the week, Segal was still waiting on Friday to begin substantive negotiations.
"It's their call when we get started, and we understand that, but we're ready when they are," Segal said. "But to this point, there have been no substantive talks. We really haven't even laid out rough parameters. The best thing, though, the ultimate for everyone, is to get this done before the draft." There have been some reports that the Texans are into negotiations with Ben Dogra, the agent for North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams, a monster player in his own right. Not true. There has been dialogue between the Texans and Dogra, but not negotiations, and the difference in those two terms is more than just semantics. Houston did have quarterback David Carr signed before the start of the '02 draft, when he was the top overall pick.