The Houston Texans are a long-shot to win next year’s Super Bowl.
According to BetMGM, the Texans, who finished 4-12 in 2020, are +8,000 to win Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium at the end of the 2021 season. The odds are tied with the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, and New York Jets for the second-worst odds in the NFL. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars at +10,000 have worse odds to win the Big Game in Los Angeles.
The biggest reason of all is the uncertainty of quarterback Deshaun Watson. The three-time Pro Bowler is ticked off with the direction of the franchise and wants out, even though he is under contract with the Texans through the 2025 season. If Houston is able to execute a trade that should make the Herschel Walker and Ricky Williams trades look like roster moves at the end of preseason, the Texans will undoubtedly be awful in 2021. Watson was barely able to scrounge together four wins in 2020. What would A.J. McCarron, some other journeyman, or a rookie do with Houston’s paucity of talent?
Another element is they are giving a 65-year-old rookie coach the opportunity to be their fourth full-time coach in team history. In terms of rookie coaches leading their team to the Super Bowl, there have only been three to do so: Red Miller (1977 Denver Broncos), George Seifert (1989 San Francisco 49ers), and Bill Callahan (2002 Oakland Raiders). All three of those coaches had rosters chock full of talent, a challenge that Culley will have to spend all offseason and training camp working through. And the job only gets harder if he doesn’t have Watson.
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