When it comes to who gets the blame for the Houston Texans’ 2022 season, fingers are pointing in a ton of different directions. There are some who blamed the problems on Davis Mills not being a prime time player. Others think Lovie Smith is the wrong man for the head coaching job. Still others think the defense has been “ok” but the Pep Hamilton offense isn’t getting the job done.
For the most part, there is one man that has managed to stay above the fray. When it comes to who should be getting the heat for the Houston Texans’ struggles, Nick Caserio has managed to stay off the hotseat. That could be changing.
Joe Banner, a former Philadelphia Eagles exec and NFL analyst for The 33rd Team thinks that the long leash Caserio has is unexpected.
"“I think you praise that the owner is patient because it’s not often you’re sitting at one win 13 games into a second year and there isn’t a conversation about you being replaced, but I don’t hear that conversation. My sense is he’s secure. So, I think he’s lucky he’s got an owner that is comfortable with the fact he’s not showing significant progress in year two.”"
The question of course is just how much longer Caserio can benefit from that patience. Fans are certainly not feeling very patient these days. The uncertainty around the roster is one big reason why.
It also doesn’t help that another team that seems to be in a perpetual state of rebuild in the Detroit Lions are showing real signs of progress. After being one of the worst teams in the NFL last year and getting off to a rough start this season, Dan Campbell has his team contending for a playoff spot.
Meanwhile, Year Two for the Houston Texans has been worse than Year One. After a 4-13 record in 2021, fans hoped that there would at least be some progress. Instead, the team has all but assured itself the number one pick in the draft and just blew a late lead to fall to 1-11-1.
That’s why Banner thinks that Caserio isn’t really getting the job done at this point.
"“I think the first thing Nick has to do is kind of really do a thorough kind of breakdown of what they’ve been doing, what’s working, what’s not working, and why. Because he should have shown more progress from year one to year two.”"
There are people in Houston Texans fandom who feel the same. It seems extremely unlikely that Caserio will get fired after this season. But 2023 should be a prove-it season, especially in an AFC South that doesn’t have a true powerhouse in the division.