Houston Texans: Examining The Fierce Bill O’Brien Denominator
What a tumultuous year it has been for the Houston Texans.
What a tumultuous year it has been for the Houston Texans.
With all of the challenges this team faced, there were still flashes of resilience.
It all started with Brock Osweiler‘s underwhelming play at quarterback, then J.J. Watt‘s season-ending back injury, a quarterback switch to Tom Savage and finally back to lackluster play at the QB position by Osweiler.
Did I mention Jadeveon Clowney‘s coming-out party?
This team managed to elevate themselves to possess the NFL’s No. 1 defense which is no easy task.
But that’s just a testament of how hard the coaching staff works to ensure this team is ready for battle.
The defense played incredibly well throughout the entire season and with Watt out, it allowed guys such as Clowney, Whitney Mercilus and Benardrick McKinney to shine.
No problems there.
However, the offense continued to flounder throughout the season, being ranked near the bottom of the barrel in terms of points scored as well as yardage.
But nonetheless, Bill O’Brien continued to lead this team with a steady hand.
A lot of you don’t think that O’Brien job approval rating should be in the toilet but three straight winning seasons with two playoff berths — including a playoff win — is not an easy feat.
Just ask the Dallas Cowboys — they’re still looking for a playoff win and this decade is almost over.
With recent developments in regard to the shifting of coaching duties, O’Brien decided to tell George Godsey to hit the road and “hired” himself as the new offensive coordinator.
Godsey needed to go — it seemed as if the task that was assigned for him was too great for him to accomplish.
All season, he had the glassy look in his eyes as if he was hoping what he trying was going to work.
It didn’t so here we are.
Also in another move, Romeo Crennel — the mastermind behind our defense’s success — was promoted to assistant head coach and linebacker’s coach Mike Vrabel is now the defensive coordinator.
This is an excellent move as Crennel likely won’t be coaching too much longer as he approaches age 70.
This gives RAC the promotion he deserves, allowing for his expertise to be shared among his peers and gives the Vrabel the opportunity to grow some more.
Now the decision for O’Brien to take over the play-calling duties is not a surprising one but will be interesting to see when the 2017 season starts.
He has just added more to his workload but O’Brien owns that playbook and he knows it best.
This gives him the power he needs to run the show on that end and we all know of much O’Brien likes to be in position to wield it.
I’m not sure what to expect but I think we’ll see improved results moving forward.
I’m not sure if there was any truth to the rumors about the intense friction between O’Brien and Houston Texans management but I genuinely feel that he wants to be here to make his mark as an NFL coach.
Besides, all the good coaching job openings were filled quickly and the Houston Texans were still in the midst of preparing for the playoffs.
The Houston Texans have landed themselves in peculiar spot in the O’Brien era — good enough to compete but not good enough to reach the next level.
Hopefully we see the change that we’re looking for or it could be his hide if not.
But considering the organization is quite patient and historically emanates continuity with their head coaches, O’Brien will be given every opportunity to succeed.
But one thing’s for sure, O’Brien is going to make sure things are RUN his HIS WAY and I wouldn’t expect anything less than that.
But is his way the best way?
We’ll have to see — go Texans.