A season that began with high hopes was ground into a weekly march of misery starting in mid-September. The Texans began 2013 with a comeback win on Monday Night Football at San Diego, and then an overtime thriller in Week 2 over the Titans at Reliant Stadium.
But starting with the Week 3 loss at Baltimore, and culminating Sunday in Nashville, the Texans went on a losing streak that saw head coach Gary Kubiak lose his job, and the team sew up the first overall pick in the 2014 Draft.
Now, a new coaching staff will be assembled, and the Texans were asked about their thoughts on it in the locker room at LP Field following the defeat.
"I'm definitely not the guy to ask about any of that," defensive end J.J. Watt said. "I'm a football player. Not a football coach or a GM. I have no clue. That's decisions for people that are paid a lot more money than me."
Wide receiver Andre Johnson echoed Watt's sentiment, and said "the people upstairs" in the Texans' business offices at Reliant Stadium were the ones with the answers.
"That's not my job," Johnson said. "I don't choose what players come in and what players go. This is a process that happens, in hiring a new coach, so we'll see what happens."
For defensive end Antonio Smith, the results of 2013 were unexpected.
"It's definitely surreal," Smith said. "It's like a bad dream that I have been having all year. You would have never thought this would happen. I just want to wake up from it."
Regardless of who takes over as head coach, Watt was already focusing on better things in 2014 and beyond.
"After this, I'm very excited about the future," Watt said. "Because I'm ready to get to work to make sure this never happens again."
Watt, who finished with 10.5 sacks in 2013, to give him a combined 31 over the last couple years, hopes the first overall draft choice helps. But he doesn't think the team will rely on whoever he is to be a savior.
"I'm sure it'll be good," Watt said. "You can never count on a rookie to come in and do everything. It has to come from the guys we have on our team. It has to come from the players, but obviously, you hope to pick up a great player."
