I am no fan of Bill O'Brien. & what I'm about to say has no bearing on him or the job he has done.
But I'm thinking of the state of the Texans. Where are we?
Truthfully, we're in the exact same place as the Baltimore Ravens. Just looking at them & what they've been able to do the past six years, we're pretty much in the same place. Can't get past the divisional round. I know John Harbaugh has done it before, but it's been a while.
If you were the Raven's GM, would you be thinking about firing Harbaugh? Six years. They dominated on offense this season, do you think they can repeat that performance next season? I don't. That's just not the way the NFL works.
It may just be me, but going all in on Lamar Jackson & not getting out of the wildcard... I'd move on. But most people here wouldn't.
Again, forget about the Super Bowl he won. Consider going forward. Would you stick with Harbaugh & how crazy does it sound for someone (me) to be talking about "moving on"?
(I want O'Brien gone last year, don't mistake me for one of them.)
Little different circumstances.
First of all Harbaugh won a superbowl in 2012 with a Matt Schaub-esque QB in Joe Flacco and a great defense.
They had only been to the playoffs in two of the previous 6 years not including this one - mainly due to poor to mediocre QB play. Flacco just hasn't been the same guy since that superbowl - He's the shining example of a QB being surrounded by all the right ingredients to win it all.
Harbaugh was essentially Schaubed …. just a guy who wasn't good enough anymore and you didn't have a better option for a couple seasons.
Enter Lamar Jackson in 2018 - they go 6-1 to finish the year and lose the wildcard game with a rookie QB with half a seasons experience under him.
This year they win 12 straight games with Jackson under center then run into the one team that matches up well with them and is very well coached … and was just as hot going in as the Ravens.
Harbaugh also built that offense specifically to suit the talents of his QB and it earned him the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
OB hasn't won a divisional playoff game much less a superbowl …. He has been embarrassed thoroughly multiple times in the playoffs , losing at home to a wildcard team and twice , not just getting beaten but beat down by the Chiefs 30-0 and then finding a way to lose by 20 after being up 28-0 this year.
Neither has he built an offense that's suited to his QB's abilities …. His QB has gotten better from year to year , Watson seems stuck in 3rd gear - actually regressing in some aspects , like getting the ball out quickly.
As a rookie Watson had the quickest release in the NFL and it wasn't close - Now that's the biggest knock on him , hanging onto the ball longer than HWWNBM.
Bottom line , Harbaugh has earned that good will from the owners to the fans - Something OB has not earned but somehow stolen.
Baltimore has a pretty bright future - all their future draft picks (and one owed them by the Pats) an MVP at QB , an innovative offense , very physical defense and a quality HC who doesn't call time out and then challenge a play.
Texans …. their future is 9-7. More of the same.