While the matter of play-caller has not been settled, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly has taken on some new duties in his promotion with the Houston Texans.
Now that Kelly doesn’t have to handle the tight ends room, as he did from 2017-2018, it has freed him up to have a bigger role with the offense.
What are some of Kelly’s new duties?
“Scripting, taking care of, basically, the general organization of practice on the offensive side of the ball,” Kelly said. “That’s more of the stuff that I guess I’m focused on now as opposed to just handling the tight end room. So, I would say right now that’s the biggest adjustment that I’ve had to make.”
The duties thus far are part of what head coach Bill O’Brien will evaluate when it comes to deciding who will be the play-caller when the reps are for real in the fall. The plan is to see how well Kelly can handle all of his new responsibilities before adding something so consequential as play-calling.
Kelly’s offensive philosophy is simple.
“I think being able to go out there and score a lot of points is obviously something all offensive coordinators want to be responsible for,” Kelly said. “I think having a sound, smart football team in the image that Coach O’Brien wants it. Again, like I said, making sure everyone is prepared when we step on the field.”
The Texans were one of the bottom-10 teams in the red zone in 2018, tied with the New York Giants for the fifth-worst red zone conversion rate at 50 percent. If Kelly is able to help Houston score more points, particularly inside the red zone, then it could be the difference between playing in the wild-card round or hosting a divisional playoff game.
It all starts with how much of the job Kelly can handle.
