Many of us have mentioned on far too many times as to what OB's as an NFL HC shortcomings are in our eyes. There are several who disagree.
Simple, for those that support him please make a case for the following:
1. Why is OB the best HC/OC for the Texans?
2. What makes him such a solid option moving forward after the last 5 seasons?
For the sake of this exercise, let's leave the GM's out of the conversation. RS deserved what happened to him b/c in all honesty he failed miserably at managing a full 7 round draft and couldn't keep the cap in order b/c of foolish signings and extensions. Gaine gets kudo's for his first NFL draft even though it was handcuffed. His FA signings could be questioned. He's got both the cap and draft in his favor this season, so this will be his big season. With that out of the way, let's hear why OB is the right guy to lead the Texans to not only a SB but could be the HC to keep them relevant for several seasons to come.
I don't "support" BoB per say, sure some will disagree with that, but I would like to take a crack at your questions from my point of view.
1. OC he is not, I've stated several times I hate BoB as a OC and if they go into the season with him in that position I believe it will be a big strike against them right off the bat. As HC I think he has done a better job but that also depends on what you think a HCs job really is. To me the most important thing is to be the face of the coaching staff and to keep the locker room and the coaching staff on the same page and motivated. I know I keep harping on it but a coach, any coach, that can keep the team pushing hard after a 0-3 start deserves some respect in my book for that. Anyone that has ever been any kind of manager when a business is going through a rough patch will tell you that morale is the hardest thing to deal with. Also despite his distain for the media, something I actually share and view as a plus, he doesn't throw anyone under the bus and takes the blame on himself.
It would have been easy for the Texans to tank the season and say "We didn't have the players we needed or the draft picks and FA options to get the players we needed" but they, including BoB didn't do that, some on this board have said basically that but the Texans themselves have not. The team as a whole, coaches and players, pulled a stunt out of Rocky and kept at it when everyone said they were done, don't forget Rocky lost in the first movie to. Its why I have said several times BoB earned one more year in my book.
2. This is simple to me, while Watson is on a rookie contract, Nuk is locked down and playing at a high level and Watt is still fairly healthy and we have, on paper at least, a talented defense its a case of better the devil you know than the devil you don't know. If we were to fire BoB today and bring in someone else it would take them 3-5 years to get their system and players in place. If we get lucky and get a great coach they might can get that number down to 2 years but they still wastes the prime years of our top players. All that assumes that any coach we get is an upgrade, and frankly from those I've seen out there that's debatable, and not get someone that is the same or even worse.
Going into the playoffs lots of people were talking about our window and how long we've waited and other things that boil down to we should be in win now mode. Well its hard to do that with a new HC and before anyone brings up Kubiak and the Broncos the situation is different. Kubiak had a HoF QB in Manning, an aging Manning but he was still the vet that understand what it meant to be in and win the big game and Kubiak had one of the, arguably, best defense of all time. Also frankly Kubiak might just be a better coach than BoB but that doesn't matter, Kubiak was just hired by the Vikings and he wasn't looking for a HC job anyway. I know there are some good coaches out there but what proven, vet coaches that would be a clear upgrade are there that the Texans could realistically get? I'm not ready to roll the dice on giving someone else their first HC job, which this is BoB's.
So those are the answers from my point of view. I don't like BoB as a coach per say but I don't hate him either. I'm in wait and see mode with this season being my decider. I will say though that also depends on Watson or Nuk not going out for the season 3 games in, no coach could win with the Texans current talent without those two.