TEXANS SIGN BILL O’BRIEN, BRIAN GAINE
COACH AGREES TO FOUR-YEAR EXTENSION; NEW GENERAL MANAGER INKS FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT
Brian Gaine will not waste any time before taking on responsibilities that go with his job as the Texans’ new general manager.
Gaine will have control of personnel and football operations and will answer to owner Bob McNair and vice chairman Cal McNair.
Gaine will work closely with coach Bill O’Brien and senior vice president of administration Chris Olsen.
Gaine gets a five-year contract to replace Rick Smith. O’Brien and Olsen get four-year extensions. Olsen, who handles the salary cap and contract negotiations, was promoted from his role as vice president.
“I’m excited about this opportunity the McNair family has given me,” Gaine said Saturday from Buffalo, N.Y., where he spent one season as the vice president of player personnel. “I’ve accepted with a great amount of humility and respect.”
After spending three years (2014-16) as the Texans’ director of pro personnel and director of player personnel and working on four drafts and four free-agency periods, Gaine is familiar with the organization.
During his first tour with the Texans, Gaine had a positive working relationship with O’Brien.
“It’s also exciting to partner with and to collaborate with coach O’Brien and build a unified vision and a consistent winner the Texans’ fan base and the city of Houston can be proud of,” Gaine said.
During their time together, Gaine and O’Brien developed a mutual respect.
“Bill’s passionate about the game of football,” Gaine said. “He has a great understanding of building the right culture and creating a winning environment.”
The McNairs hired Gaine on Saturday morning to become the team’s third general manager after Smith and Charley Casserly.
“Brian’s very sharp,” Bob McNair said. “Character is important to him. I’ve been impressed with his opinions on personnel.
“One of the things I like about Brian is that he’s been with five different organizations and has worked with five different philosophies as to how to run and draft and free agency. His philosophy fits with ours. His philosophy is compatible with the culture of our organization.” Protégé of Parcells
Working for the New York Jets, Dallas, Miami, the Texans and Buffalo, Gaine spent time learning from different owners, general managers and coaches.
Gaine is a Bill Parcells protégé. He worked for the Pro Football Hall of Famer with the Jets, Cowboys and Dolphins before coming to Houston for the first time.
“It starts with people,” Gaine said about his philosophy. “What I want to do is help build an operation and organization that have people who are passionate about the game. I want team contributors — people who want to be part of the team and operate well within the team environment.
“We want players who are competitive in nature — good players who are also good people off the field. We won’t take that lightly. We want players who love to win. If we can build a culture and a program filled with people who fit those parameters and add players who also fit those parameters, that will give us the best chance to succeed on the field.”
Gaine has witnessed success and failure since he entered the NFL with the Jets in 1999.
“My guiding principle on building a roster are driven by two factors,” Gaine said. “One, culturally, we’ll have a total commitment to team and a passion for winning. We’ll build a winning process.
“Two, we’ll be intent on building a smart, tough and disciplined team, a team that responds to competition and is passionate about the game.
“Ultimately, we want to position ourselves to consistently compete for championships.”
Olsen spent three days negotiating with agent Brian Ayrault, who represented Gaine and O’Brien. They reached agreements on both deals at 3 a.m. Saturday.
“Chris wouldn’t let their agent go to sleep,” Bob McNair said. “Chris did a tremendous job. He’s been doing a great job for us for a long time, and that’s why we promoted him and gave him an extension, too.
“Our goal is to win a Super Bowl, and we’re all on the same page. I’m glad to get Bill’s extension done. I’ve watched him for four years now, and I believe he can take us to the Super Bowl.” Worked under predecessor
O’Brien and Smith had a strained relationship that reached a boiling point last season. Smith left to take a yearlong leave of absence to care for his wife, Tiffany, who’s being treated for breast cancer, and their three children.
Smith’s departure offered the McNairs an opportunity to hire a new general manager.
During his three seasons working under Smith, Gaine was respected by the personnel department, the coaching staff and members of the administrative side or the organization.
O’Brien, who had one year left on his contract, should have an easier time hiring assistant coaches now that he has the extension.
“It’s a great time for our organization,” O’Brien said. “I’m really happy. I can’t thank Bob and Cal McNair enough.
“This is really important. It’s all about continuity and stability. We have a great core group of staff members we really believe in.”
O’Brien was on the search committee with the McNairs, president Jamey Rootes and Jed Hughes of the Korn Ferry search firm.
While Gaine will have final say on personnel — just as Smith did — O’Brien will continue to have control over his coaching staff as well as who plays and doesn’t play on game days.
“It’s about being in a place where we knew we could win because we had the support of ownership,” O’Brien said. “It was also about improving communication within the organization.
“We’ve had great meetings over the last three weeks. The McNairs have been great communicating what they want. There’s been a really good giveand-take. We have a tremendous amount of trust in each other. Colleen and I are ecstatic to be in Houston.
“Even though we’re coming off a tough season, we feel like we have a fantastic future here.”