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Bob McNair is still a better owner than Jerry Jones
I'm going to get screamed at for this opinion. I know that upfront. I'm braced for it. I'm going to be reminded that Jerry Jones has three championships, Bob McNair none, that the Cowboys are more interesting than the Texans and that the Cowboys now have a better stadium than the Texans.
I'm going to be reminded that there are advantages to having a pro-active owner instead of one that sometimes seem not to have a pulse. I'll hear that the Cowboys are one of the two most popular professional sports franchises in this country while the Texans are irrelevant.
It's also true that Bob McNair hasn't had a good off-season. He raised ticket prices at the worst possible time. He apparently is so insulated from reality that he doesn't know the country's economy is in shambles.
His team got caught doing off-season drills that were both dumb and illegal. Investigations are underway, injury grievances pending. McNair's GM, Rick Smith, appears to have zero respect inside the lockerroom. Meanwhile, the Texans are beginning their eighth season still in search of a year in which they win more than they lose.
McNair should thank his lucky stars that he lives in a city in which the media coverage of the team is so soft. No matter how many free-agent mistakes are made, no matter how many injury grievances are filed, no matter how many rules are broken, there's almost no tough reporting.
Having said all of that, it's not even a close call for me. I'd take Bob McNair over Jerry Jones seven days a week.
Jerry gave an interview week that bordered on the bizarre, an interview that reminded me the Texans are lucky to have the owner they have no matter his faults.
Jerry refuted an ESPN report about the team considering releasing T.O. He defended the gag order placed on Wade Phillips. After all these years, he doesn't understand that his organization can't win the way it's constructed.
The Texans get it. Bob McNair hires people and allows them to do their jobs. Maybe Rick Smith isn't the right guy for the job. He has made great decisions in the draft, poor ones in free agency.
If he's the wrong guy, McNair will get rid of him the same way he got rid of Charley Casserly. It's a positive that he's not going to hire and fire people on a whim.
I believe more than ever than Gary Kubiak is going to be a terrific head coach. He gets his teams to play with passion each and every week. If the Texans continue to upgrade the roster, they'll eventually win.
The Cowboys are a mess. No head coach has real authority. If a player has a problem with the coach, he knows he can go to Jerry. If the head coach makes a rule, players know it means nothing, that Jerry might overrule it at any moment.
Jerry has good personnel men on his payroll, but he doesn't always listen to them. He has no concept of team chemistry and why a guy like T.O. is a team-killer.
McNair wouldn't allow a guy like T.O. within five miles of his front door. He doesn't want thugs on his team, either.
Roll your eyes about this if you want, but in the end, character is still important. When a game is tight in the fourth quarter, talent and chemistry are important.
The Texans haven't won enough games, but they've always put a team on the field that's easy to root for. Andre Johnson is as solid a professional athlete as we have in this city. Chester Pitts, DeMeco Ryans, Dunta Robinson, etc., are the kind of people winning franchises must have.
The Texans still have one more difficult step to take in their quest for respectability. I don't know if they're going to take it in 2009 or not. But they're way more likely to be in the playoffs next season than the Cowboys. For that, we should be appreciative.
• • •
Posted by Richard at February 22, 2009 06:11 PM
http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2009/02/i_still_say_bob.html
I'm going to get screamed at for this opinion. I know that upfront. I'm braced for it. I'm going to be reminded that Jerry Jones has three championships, Bob McNair none, that the Cowboys are more interesting than the Texans and that the Cowboys now have a better stadium than the Texans.
I'm going to be reminded that there are advantages to having a pro-active owner instead of one that sometimes seem not to have a pulse. I'll hear that the Cowboys are one of the two most popular professional sports franchises in this country while the Texans are irrelevant.
It's also true that Bob McNair hasn't had a good off-season. He raised ticket prices at the worst possible time. He apparently is so insulated from reality that he doesn't know the country's economy is in shambles.
His team got caught doing off-season drills that were both dumb and illegal. Investigations are underway, injury grievances pending. McNair's GM, Rick Smith, appears to have zero respect inside the lockerroom. Meanwhile, the Texans are beginning their eighth season still in search of a year in which they win more than they lose.
McNair should thank his lucky stars that he lives in a city in which the media coverage of the team is so soft. No matter how many free-agent mistakes are made, no matter how many injury grievances are filed, no matter how many rules are broken, there's almost no tough reporting.
Having said all of that, it's not even a close call for me. I'd take Bob McNair over Jerry Jones seven days a week.
Jerry gave an interview week that bordered on the bizarre, an interview that reminded me the Texans are lucky to have the owner they have no matter his faults.
Jerry refuted an ESPN report about the team considering releasing T.O. He defended the gag order placed on Wade Phillips. After all these years, he doesn't understand that his organization can't win the way it's constructed.
The Texans get it. Bob McNair hires people and allows them to do their jobs. Maybe Rick Smith isn't the right guy for the job. He has made great decisions in the draft, poor ones in free agency.
If he's the wrong guy, McNair will get rid of him the same way he got rid of Charley Casserly. It's a positive that he's not going to hire and fire people on a whim.
I believe more than ever than Gary Kubiak is going to be a terrific head coach. He gets his teams to play with passion each and every week. If the Texans continue to upgrade the roster, they'll eventually win.
The Cowboys are a mess. No head coach has real authority. If a player has a problem with the coach, he knows he can go to Jerry. If the head coach makes a rule, players know it means nothing, that Jerry might overrule it at any moment.
Jerry has good personnel men on his payroll, but he doesn't always listen to them. He has no concept of team chemistry and why a guy like T.O. is a team-killer.
McNair wouldn't allow a guy like T.O. within five miles of his front door. He doesn't want thugs on his team, either.
Roll your eyes about this if you want, but in the end, character is still important. When a game is tight in the fourth quarter, talent and chemistry are important.
The Texans haven't won enough games, but they've always put a team on the field that's easy to root for. Andre Johnson is as solid a professional athlete as we have in this city. Chester Pitts, DeMeco Ryans, Dunta Robinson, etc., are the kind of people winning franchises must have.
The Texans still have one more difficult step to take in their quest for respectability. I don't know if they're going to take it in 2009 or not. But they're way more likely to be in the playoffs next season than the Cowboys. For that, we should be appreciative.
• • •
Posted by Richard at February 22, 2009 06:11 PM
http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2009/02/i_still_say_bob.html
