After the Houston Texans’ recent 34-16 loss to the New England Patriots in the second round of the NFL playoffs, questions have been circling around as to whether the Texans will be looking for another head coach to replace their current one this offseason. The Texans are refuting any possible firing of O’Brien as of now but anything can change this offseason.
“I don’t know where they get that,” said team owner Bob McNair. “There’s nothing to it. I got a chuckle out of it. I’m not going to fire him. We’re already talking about next year. Forget that. If I were you, I wouldn’t repeat it because it’s false.”
The Houston Texans have won the AFC South for two consecutive years under the leadership of Coach Bill O’Brien. He took over for Gary Kubiak, who was fired after the Texans went 2-14. The Texans got the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, where they selected recently selected Pro Bowl defensive player Jadeveon Clowney. The offense of the Texans was believed to be ready to shine, with only a few missing pieces needed. The Texans went out and got running back Lamar Miller, and then sought to address their quarterback situation by signing former Denver Broncos signal caller Brock Osweiler this offseason for $72 million, which many believed was way too much to pay for a quarterback with only 7 starts in his entire NFL career.
The Osweiler situation did not work out as planned, as he performed poorly throughout the season and was benched towards the end of the season for Tom Savage.
Arguably the best coach in the National Football League, Coach Belichick has nothing but great things to say about Coach O’Brien. Belichick had O’Brien under him as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback’s Coach from 2007-2011.
“Billy is a great coach,” said New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. “He’s one of the best coaches in this league, one of the best coaches in football. We saw that at Penn State, too. He’s got a great football mind, does a great job of motivating the players. He’s one of the top coaches I’ve been around, period.”
Since he has been in Houston, the Texans have had a 9-7 record every season. The success of the team has not changed any of the rumors that O’Brien could be on the outs with the Texans.
If the Texans were to fire Coach O’Brien, he would be a top candidate for many other job openings. O’Brien’s success with the Texans would attract any team looking for a head coach.