Hopefully they can keep him for another year but it’s a very realistic possibility that he walks. He will definitely be interviewed. Can they offer to give him a raise to try and keep him if it comes down to it?
Continuity under a competent OC (or offensive HC) seems important to develop talented young QBs until they can reach their potential. Past a few years they’re vets and can stand on their own.
If they need to replace him, it seems like it would be a good idea to try and have some continuity with the Shanny tree given familiarity. But who fits the bill?
I believe we are going to see a shift in which less and less talented coordinators leave for HC positions. I believe Dan Quinn, among others, who realize they are the “HC” of the defense and don’t get meddled, it’s a pretty sweet gig that isn’t having to deal with PR and an Owner who want immediate results.
The younger ones who are going to be successful need to ‘Run’ their position for a while and develop connections for the staff level positions, which takes time. It’s a reason why we see Reid and Shannahan as so successful, they both had time to build a tree prior, learn the position to set up future coordinators prior to taking a HC position.
He should stay with HOU for a good 3-5 more years and then jump to a different OC (with more autonomy) or HC position.
IMHO.