After firing Bill O’Brien earlier this week, Houston Texans decided they won’t name a new permanent head coach until the end of the season. However, that didn’t stop reports about potential candidates for the job from flooding in.
One of the most intriguing ones came from Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. He recently mentioned that Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are early favorites to fill the Texans’ head coaching vacancy. Breer explained that both Swinney and McDaniels share a connection with Jack Easterby, who currently serves as the organizations’ executive vice president of football operations and interim general manager, which made them fitting candidates for the post.
According to Breer, Dabo Swinney and Easterby enjoy a “very, very strong” relationship, even if it’s considered lowkey. But the even bigger reason why Swinney is eyed by Houston is the fact that he served as the coach of Texans’ star quarterback Deshaun Watson in college.
Swinney was even asked about Houston Texans’ job opening during a press conference but refused to comment on the situation.
“I have not heard from Deshaun and that is not even anything that I want to even have to think about,” said Swinney. “That’s—you would be the one to ask that question, of all the questions. You want to ask anything about Miami?”
Josh McDaniels, on the other hand, knows Jack Easterby very well with the duo worked together for six years in New England. Also, when McDaniels was close to taking over the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, he reportedly wanted to take Easterby with him.
McDaniels was linked with a number of job openings in the past but continues to remain with the Pats. It remains to be seen whether the challenge of leading Texans will change that.
