(Photo by Houston Chronicle)
Wow, that was quick.
On Sunday, a certain person posted on a certain Facebook page a letter to the McNair family to let Bill O'Brien go on either his head coaching or general manager duties. The next day, the McNair family probably saw the letter (here's hoping) and let him go.....from both positions. As much as I don't like seeing someone get the ax especially during a pandemic, I think the Houston Texans were tired of his lackluster job in the front office. His play calling as coach in the Divisional round against the Chiefs was questionable and ultimately led to Kansas City coming back from a 24-0 deficit. The term "he wore out his welcome" comes to mind.
It wasn't always like this. In 2014, O'Brien was hired by Houston after doing a phenomenal job cleaning up the terrible mess due to the Jerry Sandusky arrest at Penn State. He seemed to be in a perfect situation with the Texans as the team finished the 2013 season with the worst record in the league and the #1 overall pick in the upcoming draft, where they would select South Carolina pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney. During his tenure, O'Brien had one losing season as coach (2017) when quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his ACL and JJ Watt suffered a fracture in his leg. O'Brien was considered as a hot prospect in the coaching ranks in the NFL.
Here's where everything gets hairy. Bill O'Brien wanted more power in football operations. Last year, I wrote a blog about what's going on with the Texans and what I conjured up was that Bill O'Brien won two power struggles for total control of football operations. Rick Smith, one of the victims of said power struggles, took a leave of absence from his position as general manager of 11 years to tend to his ailing wife and was not returning. O'Brien made three trades that altered the franchise for the future. Two of these trades have been criticized by players, coaches, NFL personnel and experts that cover the sport. I'll give the trade for Laremy Tunsil a pass since the team needed a franchise left tackle to protect Watson despite giving up two first-round picks. The Clowney trade made little sense, but the one that everyone loathed was the trade of DeAndre Hopkins. One of the best receivers in the league, Hopkins wanted an extension with the team. However, O'Brien, now officially the GM of the franchise, thought otherwise. Insiders reported that O'Brien compared Hopkins to Aaron Hernandez, the former tight end who was convicted of murder. Many players and coaches have raved about Hopkins and his positive attitude along with his second-to-none work ethic. David Johnson has yet to explode out of the gate for the Texans.
The problem that I have is the franchise gave in and granted O'Brien full control, despite the fact that he couldn't get Houston past the second round of the playoffs. Bill Belichick, Gregg Popovich and Scotty Bowman are merited both positions since they have won championships. What was probably the coup de grace was a report that two weeks ago, O'Brien and Watt were involved in a heated argument. That's right. JJ Watt, the most likable player in the NFL, was pissed at Bill O'Brien. For that coupled with a 0-4 start on a $245 million payroll was more than enough for the organization to cut ties.
Don't cry tears for Bill O'Brien. He will find a job in the league or in the college ranks since he is an excellent coordinator and has a high football IQ.
Unfortunately, one incident sums up O'Brien's tenure in Houston. After a brutal loss to the Denver Broncos where the Texans trailed 38-3 at one point, a fan yelled at O'Brien as he was entering the tunnel towards the locker room. O'Brien began to yell obscenities at the fan until a player decided to lead his coach to the locker room before things escalated.
That player: DeAndre Hopkins. Go figure, right?
(If you want to check out the blog about "What's Going On With The Houston Texans?", it's on our website @www.realsportsaz.com and the Wix mobile app.)
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