O’Brien only has the GM to blame
Bill O’Brien the general manager wound up being Bill O’Brien the head coach’s worst enemy. In the end, with his team off to a 0-4 start following another offseason filled with questionable personnel moves, the Texans showed both the door.
The coach-and-GM in one setup rarely works out in the NFL. It’s too big a job to construct a roster, develop the talent, game plan and coach a team to victories, even for some of the most accomplished NFL minds, let alone a first-time NFL head coach as O’Brien was.
Yet Texans brass saw fit to officially turn that title over to O’Brien this past winter, and the experiment went colossally bad.
Known for head-scratching moves both in critical in-game situations and as a personnel trigger man, O’Brien was back at it this offseason, trading DeAndre Hopkins, one of the top receivers in the game, for Cardinals running back David Johnson. He then turned around and sent a second- and a fourth-round pick to the Rams for often-traveled, often-injured wide receiver Brandin Cooks with the belief that Cooks could team with Kenny Stills and Will Fuller to give the offense better overall team speed.
Yet O’Brien did relatively nothing more to fortify the offensive line that has fallen short in protecting Deshaun Watson (whom Houston awarded with a four-year, $160 million contract) or the defense that has proved incapable of consistently stopping opponents.
It didn’t take long for the Texans to pay the price. Watson remains one of the most pressured quarterbacks; Houston’s offense ranks 29th in points scored (20 per game); the defense ranks last against the run, allowing 181 rushing yards per game, and 26th in points allowed (31.5).
The loss of Hopkins is glaring. While he ranks fourth in the league in receiving yardage, Houston doesn’t have a wideout in the top 10.
Texans brass should have seen this coming, especially after last year when O’Brien essentially gave Jadeveon Clowney away rather than meet the talented pass-rusher’s asking price. Houston paid for that decision.The squad repeated as AFC South champs and won a wild-card game over Buffalo. But an inability to get to the quarterback ranked among the glaring weaknesses of a defense that blew a 24-0 lead in the divisional playoffs and gave up 41 unanswered points to the Chiefs
in a season-ending loss. You could make the argument the Texans haven’t recovered from that drubbing and he should have lost his job then.
But Texans owner Cal McNair saw fit to let O’Brien run the show completely.
Those moves proved damaging in more ways than one. By callously parting with marquee players, and getting very little in return, O’Brien damaged his credibility in the eyes of his players. It’s hard to maintain unbending loyalty when you see franchise cornerstones discarded in such fashion.
Following Sunday’s loss, defensive leader JJ Watt said “something has to change.” McNair decided coach/GM was the first place to start.
Houston is left with a huge mess that runs much deeper than its ugly record and virtually nonexistent playoff hopes. (Only one team – the 1992 Chargers – has made the playoffs after a 0-4 start.)
O’Brien hamstrung the franchise for years to come. The Texans have a league-high $255 million in cash devoted to salaries this season, and they owe their first- and second-round picks of the 2021 draft to the Dolphins.
Whoever comes in as GM must do so with the assurance he will be able to dismantle this roster and then resurrect it with young talent, a process that will take time given that Houston’s highest draft pick is a third-rounder. That GM also must purge dead weight.
And he must select a strong leader of men as his head coach, and an offensive wizard capable of positioning Watson to torment defenses similarly to how Patrick Mahomes does. O’Brien did well with Watson, but he was limited compared with Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy’s schemes in K.C. The Texans are paying Watson $40 million a year. They can’t waste his talents or their cash.
Creativity, strong leadership and a clear and unified vision are the three traits that the Texans must seek for their future.
For now, interim coach Romeo Crennel must try to rally this team and keep them from unconsciously wilting over the next 13 weeks.
In Watson and Watts, the Texans have two strong locker room leaders, so the hope is that the sweeping changes don’t further ravage the season.
It’s a long way until the offseason, and reversing the damage of the last several offseasons will not come easily.
But the Texans can’t afford any more miscalculations.