Advertisement

Texans interview QB on their roster (not Deshaun Watson) for head-coach opening – Josh McCown

Oh, to be able to get inside the mind of Deshaun Watson these days ...

The Houston Texans remain the lone NFL team currently seeking a new head coach, and the search took a fascinating — some might say bizarre — turn Friday.

The team confirmed that it spoke with two men for the job: one who has prior head-coaching experience and one who was taking practice snaps for Houston not too long ago.

The Texans signed the 41-year-old McCown to the roster off the Philadelphia Eagles in November to help back up Watson. Few could have imagined that two months later he could be replacing interim head coach Romeo Crennel, who replaced fired coach Bill O’Brien.

After the Eagles lost in the 2019 season’s playoffs — with McCown at quarterback because of injuries — they asked him if he was interested in coaching. McCown declined, stating he wanted to keep his playing career going. The Eagles brought him back, making him the oldest practice-squad player ever in September before he left for Houston.

McCown has played for 12 different teams over 19 seasons. In 102 career games (76 starts), he has thrown for 17,731 yards, 98 TDs and 82 interceptions.

QB Josh McCown signed with the Houston Texans in November, and now in January they've interviewed him for their head-coaching vacancy. (AP Photo/Michael Perez, File)
QB Josh McCown signed with the Houston Texans in November, and now in January they've interviewed him for their head-coaching vacancy. (AP Photo/Michael Perez, File)

The reaction to the interview naturally has been one of serious suspicion. Even if McCown doesn’t get the job, the Texans’ offseason continues to take wild turns as the future of Watson hangs in the balance. He reportedly was upset with the franchise’s hiring of general manager Nick Caserio after telling Watson he’d be involved in the process.

Watson found out about Caserio being hired from seeing it on Twitter. Imagine Watson’s reaction to seeing his teammate from a few weeks ago being interviewed for the job.

Was A.J. McCarron unavailable?

Perhaps Caldwell, who turned 66 this week, could be a calming influence on the situation if he’s still in play for the position. As head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions, Caldwell amassed a 62-50 regular-season record (winning more than 54 percent of his games in both spots) and a postseason mark of 2-4. He led the Colts to Super Bowl XLIV in his first year replacing Tony Dungy.

Other head-coach candidates the Texans have spoken with include Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Baltimore Ravens assistant head coach/WR coach David Culley and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

Bieniemy is a popular name among fans and media. The former NFL player has risen through the coaching ranks and overseen one of the best offenses in NFL history the past three seasons. To date, Bieniemy hasn’t landed a head-coaching job despite interviewing for several openings.

And if there’s already been outrage over that fact, you can expect it to be cranked up a few dozen notches if Bieniemy somehow lost the Texans job to McCown, who has never coached in the NFL.

More from Yahoo Sports: