Death to Google Ads! Texans Talk Tip Jar! 🍺😎👍
Thanks for your support!

You're Cal. Why'd you do it?

Status
Not open for further replies.

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Since the mods appear to be on vacation & people are starting whatever the hell they want threads, I thought I'd start this one. Based on Corrosion's post in another thread.


I don't know what the McNair's are thinking when they look at the product on the field , maybe they just don't care as long as the seats are full or maybe they just don't know any better.
So I'm asking you, "What the hell is Cal thinking?"

I'm sure we can make Cal out to be a bonafide imbecile like Cletus Hogg, & I don't know, he may very well be.

But if it were you, making the decision to keep Bill O'Brien, give him the GM title, make it known it's Bill's way, or the highway... if those were your decisions why? Why did you make those decisions?

Nope. Stop. This isn't about the decision you would have made. This isn't about the decision you wouldn't have made. This is about why you made the decision that was made.

& since Hookem was wasted one night & got caught in some compromising photos, I am a mod. I will warn you. I will delete your posts if I think it is insulting to me, Cal McNair, this board, or it's members.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
If I made the decision to make O'Brien the defacto VP of football operations (GM & HC) it's because I like the direction the team is headed. They win tough games. They had some bad losses, sure. But they won a lot of tough games. This year & last.

I like that they did not lose games back to back. That means something to me. I'm not sure what (even the best teams lose back to back games at least once in a season) but it means something.

Lastly, I'm not thrilled with the GM options out there at this time. I've got an eye on someone, but this year is not good timing.
 

Max

Veteran
Giving your head coach GM control to get the personnel he knows he needs to get the job done is the best way to have a successful organization imo assuming that the individual is very good at both roles. If they are good, it streamlines decision making and makes sure that there isn't competing visions for how the team is to be run. A positive spin is that Cal thinks the same way and he's a risk taker putting all his eggs in the BOB basket expecting big rewards from his big risk. I think that this is probably partially true but that it's more likely that he's taking this approach because he doesn't know what else to do. So he's swinging for the fence and he'll stick his head in the sand concerning any evidence that suggests this path won't work until it crashes and burns or is proven successful. The question is how much leeway he's going to give BOB until it's clear to him that it won't work. I'm hoping it's only one more year.
 
Last edited:

Seegara

Guitar Picker, Dog Lover, Woodworker
...
& since Hookem was wasted one night & got caught in some compromising photos, I am a mod. I will warn you. I will delete your posts if I think it is insulting to me, Cal McNair, this board, or its members.
FIFY, but why can't we insult Cal? I thought it was permissible to put down a 3rd party (somebody not a member of the forum.)
 

Corrosion

Idealist
Staff member
Cal is the chairman and CEO, but Janice is the owner, co-founder and senior chair. She's the final voice and must be enamored of OB and family

I think a lot of us overlook that fact and blame Cletus …. Err Cal. I know I have been guilty of doing just that.

Really wonder how much of the decision making is on her Vs Cal.


As for TK's original question - Why do I do it ?

The team has done well every season under OB aside from one plagued by an injury to our star QB - worst record other than that year is 9-7 and they have won division titles in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
 

welsh texan

You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one
From Cal’s seat, making a change could lead to the product on field becoming much worse rather than better.

it’s ok to throw out your suggestion of who you think would do a better job, but as they found out with Caserio that process isn’t always simple.

31 other teams out there and a league that is set up to create parity, if you are the top end of mediocre then you are doing a good job.

From a fan’s perspective the whole thing looks different, but if it was your billion $ enterprise you’d probably run it softly softly as well.
 

OptimisticTexan

2024 / Rebuilding Block 4 After Playoffs / Texans
OB wants the titles of GM, HC, OC and Cap/Contract Specialist.....he fired one of the best in the business.

The good that comes from such moves......it finally eliminates the scape goats. The Texans are officially OB's show. Hopefully his ability to make decisions as GM, and CCS will be better than his same ol' 6 year mistakes on the sideline. Failure means every finger in Houston will know exactly where to point......except maybe Cal's.
 

theCATALYST

Football Messiah
Well TK, it's like this.
This team has shown improvement. Not as much and not as quickly as you or I would like, but it's improvement. in 2019, we stood toe to toe with New Orleans on opening day, in their stadium. Took it to the wire and lost on an amazing field goal. We beat the New England Patriots. Nay-sayers can say they are on the decline, but they are the pinnacle of what success is....and we beat them. On that same token, we beat the Kansas City Chiefs...the eventual SuperBowl Champions. Yes, I know, Pat was gimp and they where minus a player or two. Let's not forget the points we gifted them early in the game and the way we tightened up and took control. What a great game. And then there is the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs. That is a solid team that is trending up. We beat them, in the playoffs, under the bright lights. These are the types of teams that Houston would roll over to in years past, but not anymore. This all took place in a year where we operated without a defined General Manager, so I see no reason to change that as of yet.

You can bring up the fact that we have had early exits from the playoffs often, but I can argue the fact that we where in the playoffs often as well. All it takes is a little luck, good to great execution and a good game plan to get us over the hump. Sooner or later, that WILL happen, but we need to get there first. Bill has been able to get us there often, it is only a matter of time before we "kick the damned door in".

Finally, I trust Bill. However make no mistake, there is no one and no where else to place blame for failure. He is the coach. This is his team. He is the General Manager and has full control of roster movements. I have faith that he can and will get us to the SuperBowl, but if I am wrong, there isn't many directions that he can point his finger.
 
As Cal, I made the decision because Bill has coached us to a consistent winning product, has a clear vision of what he wants for the team and shares the same personal values as myself. Bottom line is this is our business that has been and is very profitable. Bill has contributed to the organization being profitable and its working in my eyes as CEO. So Bill has earned his roles and until something catastrophic happens or we consistently start to lose, I'm perfectly fine with my decision to place Bill in his roles as GM and HC.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
FIFY, but why can't we insult Cal? I thought it was permissible to put down a 3rd party (somebody not a member of the forum.)
It is, but for this exercise you're Cal. I'd appreciate it if you're serious & help uncover good reasons he did what he did.
 

maverick512000

Hall of Fame
Ok I'll bite.

For the last 10 years I've watched the GM and HC be at each other's throats. I thought it was just Kubiak and Smith but then Smith and O'Brien couldn't get along either. So then Smith leaves and I'm thinking "Finally now we can get a GM that will work with our HC and build the team to really go places". Not to long after dad dies and now its on me to pick up the reins. Then not long after that Gaine is fired because of XXXXXXXXXXXXX (don't know the reason but Cal would) and we are about to go into the season with no GM and still no sure answer for how we are going to really improve. Then the idea comes up (again don't know from who) to hire Caserio away from the Pats and yeah everything I'm hearing sounds pretty good and the Pats have always let guys go that wanted to leave before including Caserio if he had wanted a few years back.

Next thing I know the Pats are going against form and filing tampering chargers, now I could fight this but I don't because of XXXXXXXXX (again don't know the reason) and we are again left without a GM and off season is almost over. I point to the one guy left in the building that at least does have a plan for the team. I don't know yet if its a good one or not but at least he has one so I give him the personal decisions. He starts off with some moves that I'm not totally sure about but hey at this point it really can't get much worse and he assures me this will make the team better.

Fast forward to the end of the season and I'm not at all happy about how the final game ended but dad always taught me to not make knee jerk reactions based on one game (look at how long McNairs kept people even after those one bad games that would have gotten them fired any where else) so I step back and look at the whole picture. We played a tough schedule and we did have some big wins and overall there was improvement. While sitting there I got to thinking that everyone for the last 10 years from Kubiak to Smith to now OB has said that if they were just allowed to build the team they envision then they could bring a championship to Houston. I can't do anything about Kubiak or Smith but OB is still here and he has already started making the bed with the trade moves why not make him the person that has to sleep in it.

In the end I just figured F it, lets see if what happens when the GM can't blame the HC and the HC can't blame the GM. Worst case scenario is that I fire all of them and we go into a rebuild in a few years.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
If I made the decision to make O'Brien the defacto VP of football operations (GM & HC) it's because I like the direction the team is headed. They win tough games. They had some bad losses, sure. But they won a lot of tough games. This year & last.

I like that they did not lose games back to back. That means something to me. I'm not sure what (even the best teams lose back to back games at least once in a season) but it means something.

Lastly, I'm not thrilled with the GM options out there at this time. I've got an eye on someone, but this year is not good timing.
True

I would wait until after the draft and bring in Caserio as Sr. VP of personnel. If that failed I would bring in Eliot Wolf in the same position and have Alonzo come with him to head up the personnel day to day scouting staff. I would also like to bring Sean Jones in in an advisory position. #Winners.
 

IDEXAN

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
The team has done well every season under OB aside from one plagued by an injury to our star QB - worst record other than that year is 9-7 and they have won division titles in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
That's a pretty good record that many other NFL teams would be delighted to have and it's important to keep it in mind because it is in fact the record, Bill O'Briens record.
I dunno would we do better with another coach ? Maybe but obviously depends on who it is.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
OB wants the titles of GM, HC, OC and Cap/Contract Specialist.....he fired one of the best in the business.

The good that comes from such moves......it finally eliminates the scape goats. The Texans are officially OB's show. Hopefully his ability to make decisions as GM, and CCS will be better than his same ol' 6 year mistakes on the sideline. Failure means every finger in Houston will know exactly where to point......except maybe Cal's.
I'm pretty sure Easterby made made that call with Janice/Cal's blessings. Anything to do with the $$$$ side of things you better believe the McNair's are fully involved. It's the old mans legacy.

BOB's fully in charge of personnel. Difference is I dont think Cal's fooling around with the personnel side of things like his daddy did. See: Reed/Quin.
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
I did it b/c the only time this franchise has seen marked improvement and success is when we have been aggressive. & after marveling at how successful some of these other Houston sports franchises have been by being aggressive year after year, I felt it was time for a philosophy change. So I sat down with Bill & Brian & told them both I would like to see us institute this new aggressive philosophy. I thought everyone was on board but what i saw in the last draft did not please me. What i came to find out was that while Bill was onboard, Brian was decidedly not. From that standpoint, i thought the more prudent thing to do was for Brian & the Texans to part ways and we would pursue someone that we all felt would champion our new direction....We had a candidate in mind but it didn't materialize so Bill, & now Chris & I again sat down and hammered out a temporary structure that we felt could echo our new mentality and we would reassess how well this structure worked after the season. We brought Jack into the fold to help Bill with some of the day to day GM duties & we would continue to let Chris do the contracts but overall, BoB would have final say & be the defacto GM. if at the end of the year we felt that we were mostly successful in our approach & what we achieved that season, we would go ahead & make it official the following year.
 

Thorn

Dirty Old Man
Maybe OB gets it together this year since he has all the power now. Or, maybe the team gets worse. Who knows? All I know is I'm sick of watching OB coaching the Texans and don't have the anticipation for next season like I normally do.

Then again, maybe I'm just old and jaded. You'd think if your team has won as many division titles lately as the Texans have you'd be excited, but I'm not.
 

santo

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
Maybe OB gets it together this year since he has all the power now. Or, maybe the team gets worse. Who knows? All I know is I'm sick of watching OB coaching the Texans and don't have the anticipation for next season like I normally do.

Then again, maybe I'm just old and jaded. You'd think if your team has won as many division titles lately as the Texans have you'd be excited, but I'm not.
That's because in one year, the Colts managed to almost shut us down, and this year, the Titans were one game away from the SB. Before that we were one and done unless we were going up against a backup qb.
 

IDEXAN

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
That's because in one year, the Colts managed to almost shut us down, and this year, the Titans were one game away from the SB. Before that we were one and done unless we were going up against a backup qb.
I dunno if either the Colts or the Titans have won more division titles since O'Brien-Texans has been here with them in the AFC South ?
 

banned1976

sleeper mode
I don’t know what the Texans ownership is thinking. I can only guess they’re content with the bottom line so why mess with that? I feel differently, I’m not content with the product but it doesn’t matter what I think. It’s not my money, I’m only concerned about winning.

I’m over it. And I don’t go to the games or buy the merchandise anyway.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top