No one should expect to be the next Houston Texans

Everyone is trying to crack the blueprint for the Houston Texans. That's the goal for a lot of downtrodden teams in the NFL; "How do we repeat the success the Houston Texans had in 2023?" It's not really a sustainable idea, how can you repeat one of the best years in football on purpose? Well, Fox Sports thinks it's possible, by asking whether the Chicago Bears or the Los Angeles Chargers could be the "next Houston Texans."

Frankly, it's just as close to impossible as one can get. The series of events that led to the Texans turning things around was layered and nuanced, with the events of being difficult to recreate.

First, the Texans found the right coach for the job. That's nearly impossible considering the average length of a head coaching job in the NFL is about three years, and there seems to be anywhere from six to 12 teams per year who end up firing their head coaches. Clearly, finding the right head coach isn't easy.

After that, you have to find the right quarterback, another process that's not exactly easy. Quarterbacks flame out all the time, and even the most vaunted ones can end up failing to live up to expectations. C.J. Stroud, the Texans dynamo under center, wasn't the first pick last year. He wasn't even seen as the first pick in the eyes of many, and there was great debate if he was even the 2nd best option in the draft class. Landing on a great quarterback, dare we say generational-level talent is already hard enough.

Now try landing on a quarterback as good as Stroud, while finding the right head coach. Then, hope you used the prior two drafts well enough to build enough talent around them while hitting another two home runs in the current year's draft to help steady the team and the other top rookie. In this case Stroud.

Each of those instances alone is unlikely already for the NFL, trying to hit on all three of them in the same year is nearly impossible. What the Texans did last year can't be purposefully recreated in a lab and mass-produced. You luck into it.

That's why it's pointless to suggest another team can repeat the steps needed to become the next Texans. The next team that turns around their franchise will have had a different set of circumstances, one's far more likely to work than the Texans hitting on three great players in the draft, finding the right head coach, and getting a generational quarterback all in the same offseason.