O’Brien would coach without new deal
With the Texans having their first losing season during the four-year tenure of Bill O’Brien, the coach has been the subject of several unconfirmed rumors about his future.
O’Brien coached the Texans to AFC South Division titles each of the previous two years. The Texans’ chances to repeat as champions were hurt by losing quarterback Deshaun Watson, defensive end J.J. Watt, outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus and several other key players to injuries.
O’Brien is entering the final year of his five-year contract in 2018. He said Monday that he would be willing to coach the team next season even without a contract extension. O’Brien has previously said he won’t ever quit. If the Texans don’t sign O’Brien to a contract extension and he became available after the 2018 season or if he was fired, there would be multiple suitors for him on the open market. At this point, it remains a fluid situation and a pending decision for owner Bob McNair.
“Yeah, sure,” O’Brien said when asked if he would be willing to coach the Texans next season without a new contract. “I mean, as long as they want me to coach this team, I’ll coach the team. We have a good staff, we work very hard. It hasn’t been a good year, we know that. We know the business.
“We’re not blind to what goes on in the NFL. Everybody understands that it’s a bottomline business, but we believe in what we do, and again, a lot of those decisions aren’t made by me. So, I just do the best job I can to work with the staff and the players to try to get a win on Sunday.”
Endorsements of O’Brien from top players have been ringing out from inside the Texans’ locker room.
Despite the downward spiral of a 4-11 season doomed by injuries to star players, O’Brien remains a popular figure, with several players saying publicly and privately they want him back.
That includes quarterback Deshaun Watson, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.
“We have a bond here with the coaching staff and the players and maybe it’s because of all the things that we kind of had to deal with this year,” O’Brien said. “Those guys are good guys. You guys know me now for four years, pretty emotional when it comes to those players. They put in a lot of time, they put it on the line for us in a pretty violent game and so that means a lot to me when they say that.”
Another QB may be needed
The Texans’ fluid quarterback situation took another turn Monday when backup Taylor Heinicke suffered a concussion.
With Heinicke still under the NFL concussion protocol and Tom Savage out for the season with a concussion of his own, the Texans have only one healthy quarterback in starter T.J. Yates and may need to sign a new backup. Among the options is free agent Josh Johnson, who was previously with the Texans this year.
“We’re talking about that right now,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “Obviously Taylor’s in the protocol, but we haven’t made a decision on that yet.”
It was a rough game for Yates on Monday during a 34-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was sacked six times, leaving the game to be checked out and was ultimately cleared under the concussion protocol. Yates completed just 7 of 16 passes for 83 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a 54.9 passer rating.
“He’ll work hard to improve,” O’Brien said. “He’s a great guy. He’ll work very, very hard to improve and we’ll get it better this week.”
Center Martin has ankle surgery
Starting center Nick Martin underwent ankle surgery after being placed on injured reserve last week, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.
Martin is expected to make a healthy return in time for next season, but the timetable for his offseason activity remains a fluid situation.
The former second-round draft pick from Notre Dame missed his entire rookie season when he had ankle surgery.
Ex-basketball player on practice squad
The Texans signed former North Carolina State basketball player Jevoni Robinson to the practice squad.
Robinson is a 6-7, 240-pounder who’s listed as a tight end. He’s played basketball overseas in Italy.
Robinson, 25, walked onto the basketball team at North Carolina State after being noticed in a pickup game by a team manager.
He later played for Barry University. Robinson went to high school in Charlotte, N.C., where he played wide receiver. While living in Jamaica, he competed in track and field in the hurdles, long jump and high jump.