The Houston Texans will have a new head coach for the 2021 campaign. This, combined with the presence of Deshaun Watson and Laremy Tunsil on the roster, appear to be the only guarantees following what has been a devastating 2020 season. The Texans suffered their 11th loss of the season on Sunday, fumbling away yet another potential victory during a 37-31 loss to the lowly Cincinnati Bengals.
As if it wasn’t certain before, defensive-minded Romeo Crennel allowing a career-day for lifetime backup Brandon Allen, 29-of-37 for 371 yards and two touchdowns, should certainly slam the door shut on the NFL’s oldest head coach at 72 years old. It’s nothing personal, Romeo, it’s just time for Houston to move on.
Coaches bring with them a litany of new staff and this has of course sparked the question of what coaches currently on the Texans staff may be viable candidates to stay.
One such candidate is offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, the engineer behind Houston’s “new look” 2020 offense. There is a history of moves like this, such as Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy opting to retain offensive coordinator Kellen Moore following a career year for quarterback Dak Prescott.
Like Prescott in 2019, Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson is also in the midst of a career-year despite the adversity around him. He ranks second in passing yards (4,458), second in passer rating (112.1) and third in completion percentage (70.1%), all career highs. Some will argue there would certainly be value in creating continuity for what will be the fifth-year signal caller.
The Texans are going through a rough season, but Deshaun Watson has quietly been fantastic
NFL Rank
4,458 Pass Yards 2nd
112.1 QB Rating 2nd
70.1 Comp % 3rd pic.twitter.com/Bs8P8hDKKu— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) December 28, 2020
With that said, under no circumstances should the Texans consider the return of Tim Kelly. Even though the statistics look impressive, they have been garnered in a scheme that has generally been uninspired and had frequent misuse of the talent the Texans have in-house.
It took until Week 16 for Houston to see Brandin Cooks and David Johnson, their two largest acquisitions in the offseason, put to efficient use. Johnson looked like the dynamic running back he was hailed as following the DeAndre Hopkins trade, showing speed out of the backfield and plenty of versatility to catch passes. Cooks was put in position multiple times to show off his elite speed.
The Texans owe it to their new coach to create a staff as he sees fit. However, they may be doing themselves a disservice to not fully embrace clearing house. In a year where the offense was poised to explode, there have been too many dead-beat opening scripts and three-and-outs from Kelly’s offense to entertain his return.
No amount of Deshaun magic or inspired performances against an under-performing Bengals defense should open the door for the retention of this staff. It’s time for Houston to cut their losses where present and the Kelly offense counts as one of many during this disappointing campaign.
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