Although the Houston Texans are increasingly becoming “Patriots South,” general manager Nick Caserio wanted to add an element of the Pittsburgh Steelers to the franchise.
“When you look at Coach (Mike) Tomlin, you look at the organization, basically three coaches over the course of the Rooney ownership,” Caserio told reporters on Jan. 14. “They went from Chuck (Noll) to Bill (Cowher) to Mike (Tomlin). When Mike was hired, Mike was a coordinator for one year in Minnesota. He was maybe 31-years-old and at the time, I don’t think people knew Mike Tomlin was going to not have a losing season in 15 years. I think the Rooneys saw Mike Tomlin and said, ‘You know what? That’s our guy, we believe in him and we’re going to give him the runway and opportunity.’”
The vision was clear: Houston wanted a young, dynamic coaching candidate to come in and partner with Caserio for years to come. It was the only explanation for moving off of David Culley, despite a win total that was in-line with expectations coming into the year and a group of players that clearly played hard for the career assistant with 27 seasons logged prior to joining the Texans.
