O’Brien insists he will never resign as Houston’s coach

Facing rampant unconfirmed speculation about his job security as the Texans careen toward a losing season for the first time under his tenure, Texans coach Bill O’Brien made it abundantly clear that he has no plans to walk away.

If Texans owner Bob McNair doesn’t want O’Brien back, he’d have to be fired.

“I will never quit as the head coach of the Houston Texans,” O’Brien said Monday one day after the Texans dropped to 4-10 for the season following a 45-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

O’Brien said he has a “good relationship” with general manager Rick Smith. That has been the subject of reports that they have friction.

“I’m not a quitter,” O’Brien said. “I was raised in a family that believes in family, faith, education, never quitting.”

O’Brien said whether he’s back is up to McNair and out of his control. He has said he wants to be back. O’Brien is under contract through next season.

The Texans won consecutive AFC South division titles the previous two seasons, but have struggled this year as they have dealt with numerous injuries to star players such as quarterback Deshaun Watson, defensive end J.J. Watt and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.

Coach lobbies for Hopkins: The NFL’s leading receiver, Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown, won’t be able to play against the Texans on Christmas Day because of a torn calf muscle in suffered in Sunday’s loss to New England.

Brown leads the NFL with 101 catches and 1,533 yards. He has nine touchdowns.

O’Brien said Monday he believes the Texans’ DeAndre Hopkins deserves to be voted to the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro Team.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” O’Brien said.

Hopkins has 92 catches, tied for fourth. His 1,313 yards are second to Brown. Hopkins leads all receivers with 12 touchdowns. His 14.3-yard average is tied for second among the top-10 receivers in the league this week.

“I think he’s the best receiver in the league,” O’Brien said. “... he gets better and better every year. He’s playing at a very high level for us.” spent his banishment, which began on the afternoon of Nov. 9. Photos released to the outlet and NBC emerged Sunday and during the game broadcast. Elliott will reportedly release a documentary of how he spent his suspension, a 38-day stretch during which he couldn’t enter the team headquarters or be in contact with the Cowboys. He hasn’t played since rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown in a Nov. 5 win over Kansas City.

Elliott’s representatives had released a statement last month vowing that Elliott would “come back even stronger on and off the field.”

Elliott is expected to make a personal statement soon.

“We’re excited about Zeke,” Jones said. “I’m excited to have him back at The Star . ... It’s been a rough year for Zeke, and he’ll be the first to say that he knows his fans have had an up-and-down (time) with him here, and now we’re back together again.

“Maybe we’ll get a chance to really do something special, maybe we’ll get in the playoffs.”

Elliott bet former NFL running back great Eric Dickerson that he would rush for 200 yards in his return, according to video released by TMZ.

“He said that he’s gonna get 200 yards in his return,” Dickerson told TMZ Sports. “I said, ‘No, you not gonna get no 200 yards.’ So the bet is that if he gets 200 yards I have to give him one of my jerseys. It’ll be one of my special jerseys that I played in, and if he doesn’t get 200 yards he has to give me a jersey he played in.”

Elliott has the same agent as Dickerson, who was among those to reportedly visit Elliott in Mexico.

“I know Zeke,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said before the game on Cowboys radio. “When he left for the suspension, his goal was to get in much better shape, certainly get his mind right. He knows he’s made some bad decisions, and I know he wants to be one of the great ones in the NFL, and you can’t do that if you’re not focused on your game both on and off the field. ...He’s going to come back and help us.”

The Cowboys went 3-3 without Zeke, losing in three straight blowouts. But they pulled it together to win the next three, including squeezing out Sunday’s win by virtue of a touchback, of all things, in the final minute. The Cowboys need to win out — against Seattle and on New Year’s Eve at Philadelphia — and get help from other teams to make the playoffs.

Elliott’s activities during his time away were kept out of the public eye and even escaped social media after a couple of sightings in Frisco before he departed the country.

Elliott’s fight against his suspension, first announced Aug. 11, started in training camp, taking place in three states, four courts and in front of nine federal judges. That kept him on the field for the first eight games of the season, during which Dallas went 5-3.

Elliott’s suspension was finally enforced after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Elliott’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would continue to block the suspension while the case was heard.

Allegations that he used physical force against a former girlfriend on multiple occasions emerged in July 2016, before Elliott had played his first NFL game. Elliott denied the claims and was not charged by authorities, but the NFL launched its own investigation soon after that would last more than a year.

Elliott’s return Monday marks the first time in his career that the NFL investigation and threat of a suspension are behind him.

Elliott rushed for 783 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 19 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns before his suspension.