- The Houston Texans have gotten off to a terrible 0-4 start.
- As a result, Bill O’Brien has been fired as the head coach/GM of the team.
- Does the franchise have any hope after O’Brien destroyed the roster?
Bill O’Brien is gone.
The city of Houston is rejoicing. That’s because O’Brien, as a key decision-maker, had become a destructive force within the Texans franchise.
Forget the season, can Houston save their franchise after O’Brien’s reign?
The Bill O’Brien Exit
Earlier today, O’Brien was asked about the status of his job. He said:
All I can control is what I can control, and I’ve got to do a better job with the team. That’s obvious, and we’re going to work hard to do that
The Texans might be working hard, but they’ll be doing it without their controversial head coach.
O’Brien was fired after seven seasons with the Texans, during which he had a decent 52-48 record. But it’s his more recent moves that have had people flabbergasted.
During a press conference today, O’Brien said, “We just didn’t do enough.” No, Bill, you just did too much.
#Texans LIVE presented by @Verizon » Bill O’Brien speaks with the media. https://t.co/yBBbA9m5zY
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 5, 2020
O’Brien’s Curious Legacy
According to ESPN, O’Brien has been making personnel decisions as early as 2017, even though he was officially named GM until early this year. 2017 is when the Texans’ truly head-scratching roster moves began to surface.
That’s when they traded no.1 pick Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle. But that was just an appetizer. Check out some of O’Briens most boneheaded moves:
- Traded two 1st-round picks and a 2nd-round pick to Miami for Larry Tunsil and Kenny Stills.
- Traded franchise cornerstone DeAndre Hopkins for David Johnson.
- Traded a 2nd-round pick for Brandin Cooks.
Kenny Stills has been forgettable since he joined Houston. Brandin Cooks was fading before the Texans traded for him. And he’s continued to slide this season, averaging a mere 34 yards per game.
DeAndre Hopkins has nearly double the reception yards of both Cooks and Stills combined this season.
And he was traded for David Johnson, who’s been passable at best. He’s certainly nowhere near the top of the class for his position, like Hopkins.
Fans, like the one below, were ecstatic about O’Brien’s firing:
Houston Texans fans right now seeing Bill O’Brien fired pic.twitter.com/OYcPmcwBpK
— Chris James 👑MAMBA FOREVER!👑💛💜 (@ChrisJames5980) October 5, 2020
In summary, O’Brien tanked the future of the franchise by trading picks, while making the team worse in the present moment, as well.
No wonder JJ Watt recently said,
Something needs to change. Something needs to be different.
Where Does Houston Go From Here?
On the bright side, Houston still has its most important player, Deshaun Watson. Sadly, Watson’s career trajectory was starting to look more like Andy Dalton’s than Tom Brady’s under O’Brien.
Now that O’Brien is gone, he could be paired with a coach who actually knows how to use him.
Check out this fan’s interpretation of how Watson is feeling:
Deshaun Watson escorting Bill O’Brien out of the Texans facilities pic.twitter.com/U7RjSJOkDN
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) October 5, 2020
Interim head coach Romeo Crennel might not be that man, though. Crennel has had sparse success as a head coach. The one ray of hope was his surprising 2007 campaign with Cleveland. That year, he managed to squeeze the best year ever out of mediocre quarterback Derek Anderson.
Could he do the same with Watson? That remains to be seen.
Despite trading away Hopkins and high draft picks, the Texans have acquired offensive talents that are, theoretically, talented. Maybe they’ll be able to find their potential now that Bill O’Brien is gone.
But their lackluster defense seems less hopeful.
Hopefully, Houston learned what the NBA has learned over the last few years: it’s never a good idea to give a coach full power over a team–especially not when that coach is Bill O’Brien.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.