On Monday, Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano dropped the bombshell of the week after the Houston Texans announced they fired the “legendary” coach Bill O’Brien. BoB was hired as the Head Coach to the Houston Texans back in 2014, in which he inherited a Texans team with a ton of potential. Now, after starting the 2020 season off to an 0-4 record, the Texans decided to move on, putting the Titans, Colts, and Jaguars franchises into a state of uncertainty.
During O’Brien’s tenure, he helped the Texans reach the playoffs in 4 of his 6 full years of coaching. However, the furthest he got was the divisional round. Considering the amount of times the Texans have won the AFC South during this stretch, you would think the firing of Bill O’Brien would be shocking. It wasn’t the records that got him fired, it was his poor decision making that he made as a General Manager, and losing the locker room. O’Brien’s time as the Texans GM was partly the biggest asset for the Titans, Colts, and Jaguars. Now with BoB gone, so is the hope for the Texans to continue being ran into the ground.
Bill O’Brien’s tenure as a GM completely destroyed the future of this Texans franchise, making it much easier for the Titans, Colts, and Jaguars to find success. Here is O’Brien’s noticeable transactions just from 2019-2020.
- Traded away Jadeveon Clowney in exchange for Jacob Martin (huh?), Barkevious Mingo (really?), and a 2020 third round pick (couldn’t even get a 2nd?). Clowney is one of the most prolific pass rushers in the NFL, as he demands double teams on every play, making life easier for the rest of the defense to succeed. With a high quality player like that, BoB should’ve been able to garner much more than he accepted.
- Traded away a 2020 first round pick (yikes), a 2021 first round pick (big yikes), Johnson Bademosi (he has 2 last names as his name), and Julien Davenport (never heard of him), in exchange for Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills, a 2020 fourth round pick (yeah, that helps), and a 2021 sixth round pick (even bigger yikes). Look, I get it, the Texans O-line was garbage at the time, and they needed a legit LT to protect DeShaun Watson… But giving up 2 firsts and a second for a LT is INSANE!! You could have literally drafted an offensive lineman in the draft and still keep all of your picks!! Oh well, it’s not like he traded away DeAndre Hopkins, or anything.
- Traded away DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth round pick in exchange for David Johnson (29 year old RB, oof), a 2020 second round pick, and a 2021 fourth round pick… You couldn’t even get a first rounder back, bro? *Insert “Houston, we have a problem” joke, here*
As a Titans fan, I can personally say, “Thank you, Bill! For everything you’ve done!” I’m sure Colts and Jaguars fans will agree. It’s going to be a tough job for the Texans’ front office to find BoB’s replacement, especially since O’Brien was working multiple roles. The guy was already working two jobs, and decided to put more food on his plate after announcing that he would also become the Offensive Play-Caller. So he sucked as an HC, and a GM, and thought, “Hey, I might as well be the Offensive Coordinator too. Why not?”
After it’s all said and done, Bill O’Brien traded away not one, but TWO super star caliber players and couldn’t even gain back a first or second rounder for the 2021 NFL Draft. These trades are so bad that even the Madden video games won’t let you do it. My only question is, do you think Bill was the one that initiated these trades first? I like to imagine that he called up the Cardinals and was like, “I wanna trade Hopkins to you guys and get David Johnson.” Arizona’s front office just stood their silent thinking BoB was just pulling their chain until they realized it was A REAL OFFER.
News broke earlier today that Bill O’Brien also lost the locker room after JJ Watt and the ex-Head Coach exchanged heated words during a practice. After that moment, it’s easy to see the entire team revolt against their HC, especially after starting the year to an 0-4 start. Romeo Crennel takes over as the interim Head Coach for the Houston Texans, so it will be interesting to see what this team can do under new leadership.
As for the rest of the AFC South, this is the biggest loss to the Titans, Colts, and Jaguars franchises in history. Luckily it’ll take awhile for the Texans to recover, so we will each have a few years (at least) to have an advantage in the division. With that said, I want to say, goodbye Bill O’Brien, and thank you for everything you have done. You deserve a reward for what you’ve done to the Houston Texans franchise.
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