In 1997 Houston lost their football team, the Oilers, when they relocated to Tennessee. In 1999, they would receive a new team. Unusual for a city that lost a team to receive a new one so soon, so what happened? The answer lies in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1996 Art Modell wanted to move the Browns to Baltimore. The city fought the move. In the deal reached between Cleveland and the NFL, Modell could move but must rename the team and be considered an expansion. Cleveland was also promised a new Browns team within three years. In 1999, three years were up and the Browns were back, but the NFL wanted an equal number of teams. Thanks to the McNair family and a $700 million deal, Houston was chosen to receive the new expansion team. The Texans were born.

Under head coach Dom Capers, the Texans achieved the rare feat of winning their opening game. The first time that had accomplished that since 1961. As is the case with most every expansion team, they struggled in their first few years. In 2006 Houston native Gary Kubiak was named the new head coach. There was rapid success. In 2008 and ’09 he lead the team to consecutive .500 seasons. A winning season in 2010, but far below .500 the following season.

After drafting J.J. Watt and hiring Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator the team went on to win the division in 2011. They would win the division again in 2012, but in an inexplicable turn of events after a 2-0 start in ’13, they went into a nose-dive. After losing eight straight games Kubiak was fired and Phillips was named his replacement. But Philips could not find the brakes either and the team ended the season with a 14-game losing streak. That was the end for Philips as well and the team brought in former Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien. O’Brien would lead them to a winning season in 2014 and would win the division in 2015 and 2016. 2017 started out well, but new star quarterback DeShaun Watson tore his ACL during practice. Then veteran J.J. Watt suffered a concussion and backup QB Tom Savage suffered a
seizure.

The season was doomed. 2018 and 2019 both saw a return to division titles, but ownership was wanting more. An 0-4 start to the season gave them the excuse they were looking for. O’Brien was fired and Romeo Crennel was named interim head coach. Houston finished the 2020 season 4-12 and David Culley was hired as head coach. In 2021 Culley was fired in favor of Lovie Smith, and at the end of 2022 he was fired as the team announced they were going to try a different strategy and hire former player DeMeco Ryans.

As a former player, Ryans should know how to handle his staff well. With young stand-out QB C.J. Stroud the Texans may have found the pairing they were looking for. In their short history, the Texans have six playoff appearances and all have resulted in division championships.

In 2023 the Texans look to take it further, with a young hot QB who can definitely get the job done. It should make for an interesting season, and you can see it all, every second of every game on NFL Webcast for free! No signing up, no signing in, no charge ever!

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