So…I just forgot. HOL. We’ll have the regular daily thread tomorrow, it’ll be a special Christmas edition of Barry’s Heh Report. And, we’ll have a Saturday thread as usual. Then, the normal game day threads on Sunday.

As the 2020 NFL season heads into the final two weeks, there are three head-coaching jobs officially open — the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons — with more sure to come in the weeks ahead.

There are many intriguing candidates this year, from candidates rising up the offensive and defensive coordinator paths to those from the NCAA ranks to former NFL head coaches looking for their next shot.

Who will get each job? Let’s break down each opening and come to consensus on whom we’d hire for each club. We also added our picks for the jobs with the 1-13 New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars, who are likely to be looking for a new coach soon.

Who should the Lions, Texans and Falcons hire as head coach? We debated and made picks for NFL openings
By Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, ESPN

Excerpt:

The situation: After starting 0-4, the Texans fired coach and general manager Bill O’Brien. He went 52-48 and won four division titles in seven seasons in Houston. Executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby is handling GM duties on an interim basis, and Texans chairman/CEO Cal McNair said last month that Easterby “will have a significant role in helping shape our future.” The team interviewed former Lions and Colts coach Jim Caldwell on Monday.

Fowler: This job is fascinating, Dan, because you have a top-tier quarterback in Deshaun Watson to drive your franchise. But the overall roster is middle-of-the-road at best. Bill O’Brien traded away the first- and second-round picks in April’s draft. The Texans are set to be $12.9 million over the salary cap, and the presence of VP Jack Easterby clouds the hierarchy. Can a new coach overcome all that?

Graziano: Someone asked me on the radio the other day what’s the best job of those that are open or will be, and my knee-jerk answer was this one because of Watson. There isn’t another job that comes with a QB this good.

But your point about the draft picks is well taken, and they have a lot of work to do to build something up around Watson. While people will connect QB-centric candidates with this job, I almost wonder whether you don’t need one, since Watson is such a known quantity. CEO-type coach here instead of QB-whisperer type. Just a theory.

Fowler: I could see that. You can always get a killer offensive coordinator to structure the offense. Since Watson still has some deficiencies, such as pocket presence, I like a partnership with an offensive head coach who can take him to a new level. The ability is there to become an undisputed top-three quarterback. I have a sneaky suspicion that Eric Bieniemy will at least strongly consider this job, but we’ll see. Which CEO types do you like here?

Graziano: I share your suspicion on Bieniemy for this job, and my experience talking to him leads me to believe he can be that CEO type rather than just a deservedly promoted offensive coordinator. Marvin Lewis wants back in, and he won a lot more games in Cincinnati than most people have. Might be worth a shot to see him at the helm of a different organization. Somebody else with previous NFL head-coaching experience could work, like Leslie Frazier or Raheem Morris or even Jim Harbaugh.

But I keep coming back to Bienemy as the likely choice here, maybe because I keep hearing it everywhere. It’s the kind of rumor you’ve heard so much that you start to wonder.

Fowler: Such a natural tie-in too, with Watson’s connection with Patrick Mahomes, since they’re good friends and draft-mates. As Chiefs OC, Bieniemy has helped Mahomes develop into the game’s premier passer. We’re not saying Watson is Mahomes, but perhaps Bieniemy can guide Watson in a similar way.

The coach we’d hire: Eric Bieniemy, offensive coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs

Two Texans get voted into the Pro Bowl that won’t actually be played. And, the Texans interview a former Colts and Lions HC.

Texans QB Deshaun Watson and LT Laremy Tunsil make 2021 Pro Bowl
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and left tackle Laremy Tunsil were named to the 2021 Pro Bowl.

For Watson, it is his third Pro Bowl selection. For Tunsil, it his second, all of which he has earned in his two seasons with the Texans.

The Pro Bowl has been altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of playing an actual game and having live practices, the entire week is going virtual.

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Texans interview former Lions coach Jim Caldwell for head coaching vacancy
By Skyler Carlin, ClutchPoints

Excerpt: On the other hand, the interview with Caldwell happened on Monday, with the Texans able to conduct one since Caldwell isn’t currently employed. Caldwell’s most recent job in the NFL was the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2019.

However, before that — and as the Texans might know — Caldwell was one of the best coaches that the Detroit Lions have had in their history. Despite coaching just four seasons with the Lions from 2014-2017, Caldwell posted an impressive 36-30 record in Detroit, which includes two playoff appearances.

Besides being the last coach to lead the Lions to the postseason, Caldwell has the fifth-best winning percentage among coaches in Detroit’s franchise history. While the likes of Eric Bieniemy and Brian Daboll have been rumored as candidates for the Texans, Caldwell will also be considered for the head coaching position.

The fact that the Lions have struggled so much under Matt Patricia, and are now searching for a new coach in their own right, casts Caldwell’s tenure there in a different light. It is therefore not terribly surprising the Texans might consider Caldwell, though Houston fans would most likely prefer Bieniemy as the offensive wizard who can maximize the talents of Deshaun Watson.

Deshaun Watson and Colts DC Matt Eberflus talk after the game. Sarah Barshop of ESPN says two close losses to the Colts (and an OT loss to the Titans) shows the Texans may not require a long-term rebuild.

What were Texans QB Deshaun Watson and Colts DC Matt Eberflus talking about after the game?
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson dropped an interesting note in his postgame presser Sunday afternoon.

After the Indianapolis Colts vanquished the Texans 27-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium, Watson apparently had a conversion with Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.

What was the subject of their discussion? Just how the Colts defense was able to curtail the Texans’ offense, limiting them to exactly 20 points in both of their contests this season, two weeks apart.

“We play a team that we just played two weeks ago so we have to figure out what they’re doing differently,” Watson said. “They did a lot of different things differently. I talked to their DC afterwards and told him about it and he was like, ‘Yeah, that’s what we had to do. We had to switch up some different things.’

“Because that defense is a bend but don’t break defense. They play a lot of zone coverages and a lot of different things that they do — you know exactly what they’re going to do but today they wanted to try to mix it around and do some different things.”

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Two close losses to Colts show Texans may not need long-term rebuild
By Sarah Barshop, ESPN

Excerpt: While there have been many moments in 2020 when the Houston Texans have looked like they have a long way to go before they are competing for AFC South titles again, going toe-to-toe twice against the Indianapolis Colts, a likely playoff team, shows they may not need a long-term rebuild.

Two weeks after losing the game after Deshaun Watson fumbled a low snap with the chance to take the lead, the Texans again lost to the Colts in a close game, falling 27-20 to drop to 4-10.

But despite the losing record and lack of resources for a quick improvement, the Texans’ performance in the division against two potential playoff teams (one-score losses to the Colts twice and an overtime loss to the Titans in October) shows they could be competing with them again in 2021.

The biggest reason is, of course, Watson, who again played well. He completed 33 of 41passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns. Watson has now thrown a single-season career high 27 touchdowns, which is the second-most passing touchdowns in a single season in franchise history.

The Texans have one more divisional test this season when they host the Tennessee Titans in Week 17, to see where they stand in the AFC South.

Hope everyone has been staying nice and not getting all naughty with just a few days before Santa brings you presents. Speaking of which, check out a cool YouTube’r Mark Rober who engineered a Glitter Bomb disguised as a package left on doorsteps (which is then invariably stolen by porch pirates).

Barry said, in his email to me, that maybe this one should be called the Meh Report instead of the Heh Report. LOL. Happy Friday everyone!

Week-14-Heh-Report-Bears

Two articles from Mark Lane of TexansWire: 1) News that’s not new news, regarding Louis Riddick interviewing for the GM job in Houston, and 2) An opinion piece on Brian Daboll as a HC candidate for the Texans.

ESPN’s Louis Riddick interviewing for Houston Texans GM job
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: Riddick is a fan favorite among football scouts and game tape critics. The former NFL safety hasn’t been in an NFL front office since 2013 when he was the director of player personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2010-13.

The 51-year-old got his start with Washington in 2001 as a pro scout. In 2005, Riddick was named director of pro personnel, and Washington made the playoffs that year and later in 2007, Riddick’s final year at that post. In 2008, the Eagles hired him as a pro scout, and in 2009 he was promoted to assistant director of player personnel.

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Should the Texans consider Bills OC Brian Daboll as their new coach?
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: According to Mark Schofield from the Touchdown Wire, the 45-year-old offensive coordinator is one of the best play-callers in the NFL today.

The main reason that Brian Daboll is a hot name among potential NFL head coaches for 2021 is what he and the Buffalo Bills have done for the development of Josh Allen. From now until the end of time Allen’s name is going to be mentioned every draft season when the big-armed, athletic quarterback prospect is debated. Daboll and the Bills took Allen and molded him into a complete quarterback and and MVP candidate. Sure, the QB himself deserves credit too, but Daboll’s developmental chops is going to be the reason he gets hired as a head coach.

Schofield used the example of how the Bills went against a lot of man coverage earlier in the year. As Buffalo beat man coverage with ease, defenses started getting more complicated, and Daboll matched with better play-calls, unlike some play-callers who stall out once they are figured out.

Jordan Palmer says Deshaun Watson is THE guy that NFL head coaches and general managers want to work with right now. Also: Mark Lane of TexansWire believes Buddy Howell deserves carries at RB for the final three games of the season.

“This is the most enticing employee in the NFL to work with right now,” Palmer said of Watson during Tuesday’s episode of The Herd w/Colin Cowherd. “If you’re a GM, you want this job. If you’re a coach, you want this job. If you’re a free-agent wide receiver, you want to go play for this team. . . . He’s going to build a championship there at some point.”

Deshaun Watson will build a championship team in Houston, according to @JWPalms:

"This is as bad as it will ever get. This is the worst situation he's ever been in and will be in… If you're a GM or coach, you want this job." pic.twitter.com/KyVsbyeOvh

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 15, 2020

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Texans need not be bashful about giving RB Buddy Howell more carries
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: Houston already knows what it has in running backs David Johnson and Duke Johnson. However, Howell has toiled away playing special teams and seeing other running backs such as Lamar Miller, Alfred Blue, D’Onta Foreman, Carlos Hyde, and Taiwan Jones get their chances in the past three seasons. Given that Howell is in the last year of his rookie contract with the Texans, there wouldn’t be a better time to see what Howell can offer in the final three games.

Against the Chicago Bears amid the 36-7 loss at Soldier Field, Howell tallied 11 carries for 42 yards, and that was also the game where he logged his only career catch to date. The 6-1, 215-pound bruiser provided a burst up the middle and contact that Texans runners have lacked in 2020.

Playing Howell also gives the 24-year-old a chance to put more of his body of work on film, an opportunity he missed out on with there being zero preseason games in 2020. As Howell enters free agency, having evidence on tape of what he could bring to a backfield, whether in Houston or elsewhere, would be beneficial to helping him earn that second contract.

Justin Reid is done for the year. So is Brandon Dunn. Maybe it would be good to take #4’s helmet from him so he won’t have a chance at a severe injury in these final 3 games?

Source: #Texans standout safety Justin Reid is out for the season thanks to a hand injury he suffered on Sunday. He finishes with 83 tackles and 2 sacks.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 15, 2020

Texans starting defensive tackle Brandon Dunn out for season with a pelvic fracture, according to a league source

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 15, 2020

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Should the Texans sit Deshaun Watson for the last three games?
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: What makes Watson great is his competitive drive, and it won’t allow him to sit, not even amid the worthlessness the final games represent to the team’s legacy.

“I’m going to play,” Watson said after the loss Sunday. “That’s my job. I’ve got to be out there every game. I’m not looking forward to throwing the book of vacation right now. We’ve got three more games. I’ve got too much pride and respect for myself and this organization and this team to go out there and just get embarrassed again or lose. My job is to go out there and play to the fullest and try to get these Ws.”

Similarly, interim coach Romeo Crennel is going to continue to play Watson as the hits he took in Chicago, part of a six-sack, 11 quarterback hit performance, are part of the game.

“This game is called football, and there are hard hits that occur in the game,” Crennel said. “When you’re at the quarterback, you’re going to take some of them.”

Well, there’s not much use in posting any news articles. Nothing at all was working for the Texans in yesterday’s loss to the Bears, so let’s just try and scrub that game from our collective minds.