1685

According to a pro Flores article in one of the Miami papers I read, he was given a lot of unofficial power and did have full coaching staff control. Not sure who else you would blame for all the coaching staff turnover he had (it goes beyond OC). He also had plenty of say in personnel decisions so Tua over Herbert (which was influenced by ownership) belongs to both he and the GM.

In other news, the Texans fired Culley today. I’d argue they are worse then the Dolphins or the Panthers. Everyone said their GM hire last year was one the best guys out there after his years assisting Belichick in New England but I don’t get this move at all.

1686

Let me put it this way, then. If the GM and owner gave a rookie HC that much control over personnel and didn’t put a stop to the turnover, they should be ashamed. Even if Flores had “full control” over his staff, they still have a voice in things. I think there’s no chance he made those decisions without their input or knowledge

The Culley firing reflects very poorly on Houston. Who would want that job now?

1687

I remember the Cully hiring being very much questioned by the experts. But only being given one season after the mess he took over is a travesty.

1688

I just don’t understand the thinking. How can you throw a guy into a complete mess and expect a 1st season turnaround? If you scapegoat your HC every year how do you ever expect to progress as a franchise? Who is going to want this job if the expectation is to take a 4 win team and make it into a playoff team overnight?
I saw people calling for Campbell’s head in Detroit over his 3 win season but fortunately the front office understood just how bad of a roster he inherited from Quinntricia.

1689

Yeah, Culley was given a roster that was almost historically terrible and somehow got his team to overachieve like crazy…and he’s gone.

1690

That’s crazy, especially considering how much the Lions improved by the end of the season even being down a ton of starters. Hell, at some point Goff even started looking like he belonged in the NFL.

1691

I didn’t see a lot of the lions, but as noted after the Seahawks game, they were playing hard. That certainly showed up in the last game too. If you have a bad record but your players are fighting hard to win at the end of the season, that’s worth something

1692

Definitely. They obviously have the knowledge that the players like him, he inherited a bad team, and they have shown a lot of good play this season. They have lost a lot of games, but a bunch of those were close. With their point differential, they should have probably had 5 or so wins. Got some real bad luck in close games.

It is so crazy for teams to just cut bait on guys who clearly were dealt a bad hand. You could say for sure that Campbell did a lot with what he was given.

1693

Well, looks like Culley is getting about $22 million out of it, as that’s what his three-year contract was worth. Not bad for one year of work.

1694

Yeah, good on him for getting paid, but man is it a bad look for the Houston Texans and the NFL at large. Flores and Culley get fired despite coaching teams that overachieved this season (thus leaving Mike Tomlin as the only black head football coach in the league), while dudes like Matt Rhule just keep on keepin’ on.

1695

Let’s get excited for this weekend people.

1696

I’m very excited but nervous. Go Bills! I really hope we don’t lose to the Patriots. Originally from Buffalo but in DC now.

1697

Oh, Bills fan? This story was tailor-made for you. Fascinating to read about Super Bowl 25.

1698

I mean, definitely yeah. The NFL sucks at hiring black coaches.

But also, I don’t want to by hypocritical and say HC’s should get 2-3 years before the axe, and call for Rhule’s firing too. At least the Panthers seem to want to stick to their hiring and give him the full evaluation period.

This is more of an indictment of the Dolphins and Texans organizations as being poorly run. (Especially the Texans… woof) … and probably being a little bit racist.

1699

TBF, the NFL sucks at hiring coaches period. But yeah, the Rooney Rule shouldn’t go anywhere any time soon.

1700

I was 12 for that Super Bowl. I cried…alot.

I am nervous about the game because of Belichick. We’re the better team but there is doubt.

1701

Belichick game plans well, even if sometimes he’s had some illicit help preparing his game plan.

1702

I really believe Leftwich will get his chance this year. Think the bears would be a great fit

1703

Last time the Bears hired a coach with ties to Tampa, it worked out pretty well for them (Lovie Smith), so I’d be ok with it.

1704

Honestly, I don’t know much about lefty as a coach, but I think his attitude would play well there. He was always a tough, gutsy player.