O’Brien draws up game plan for progress
We can always improve. Each one of us can be better than we currently are.
A stronger personal foundation. A sharper communal vision. Smoother relationships with the people and world that surround us.
That’s what the man who won the AFC South in 2015 has been telling himself since 30-0 Chiefs emptied out shellshocked NRG Stadium in January.
Year Three is a big one for Bill O’Brien’s Texans. And as the just-drafted rookies arrived for their first initiation into O’B’s World, a 46-year-old coach with 18 victories in two NFL seasons already was thinking about how to make Bob McNair’s franchise run more efficient than ever four months before Week 1 begins.
“We’ve asked the team … to think about two words: enhance and change,” O’Brien said Friday, as new names walked past him on a practice field and NRG hovered large in a sun-filled background. “Enhance meaning, how can we improve our skill sets that are already pretty good. And change: Hey, maybe we’re going to have to change some of the things that we do, the way that we plan. And if we’re asking the players to do that, maybe we have to do that as coaches.”
The one word that really matters for last year’s “Hard Knocks” cursing king: communication.
Figuring out how to better translate his football vision to never-ending general manager Rick Smith and the McNairs. Getting the most out of all the little pieces that make up the Texans, then pushing the organization to a height it has never seen before. ‘We’re farther ahead’
As we sit here today, the Texans still aren’t Super Bowl contenders. But they’re more talented on paper than they’ve ever been during O’Brien’s reign. They’re also theoretically balanced on both sides of the ball, which is proof that the men who decide things on Kirby Drive have been more united than divided in recent months.
“We’ve put a lot of work into this thing. We’ve all worked together,” O’Brien said. “There’s been a lot of meetings: Rick and I; Rick, myself, Bob, Cal (McNair) — we’ve met a lot. I’ve learned a lot from them. What their vision is for their team, what type of players that they want, what type of players we want. We’re meshing that pretty well.”
Brock Osweiler could be the quarterback the Texans have always needed since Matt Schaub fell apart. Simply signing him was proof that the old, outdated ways had finally changed. Lamar Miller kept the modernization trend moving forward, then an offense-first draft backed up Bob McNair’s lateseason demands while propelling the franchise into a contemporary era that treats speed and versatility as invaluable athletic assets.
For the first time since O’Brien replaced Gary Kubiak, we can see what the new guy’s Texans are really supposed to look like. And for the first time since 2012, this team truly could be worth your time when J.J. Watt is on the sideline.
“We’re farther ahead offensively, even though we have some new players,” O’Brien said. “We have a guy in Brock Osweiler that has experience in our offense because this is an offense that he ran when he was a rookie — similar terminology — so he has an idea of what we’re doing.
“We’re much farther ahead than where we were two years ago. But the proof is in the pudding on the field on Sundays.”
As O’Brien finds new ways to illustrate his vision to his owner and GM, he’s also trying to reach his players on a deeper, more personal level.
He changed the Texans’ culture in Year One. He got nine wins, a division title and the playoffs out of five QBs in Year Two, fighting through a horrid 2-5 start and again proving himself when he was backed up against a brick wall. For Year Three, O’Brien wants his team stronger on the field and closer off it.
“After having been around a lot of these players for two years now, I feel like I know them better,” O’Brien said. “I believe that I’m a good communicator. But I think I can be even better. And I’ve started that with these guys, just by checking in on them and talking to them.
“Maybe even just asking about their families and seeing how they’re doing. Or maybe talking to them about some things that I believe they do well and they can continue to do well, or maybe some things that they may need to change.” Enhance, change, communication
The yeller and screamer will always impose his will. It was the unifying way at Penn State. It squeezed 9-7 last season out of Brian Hoyer, Brandon Weeden, T.J. Yates, etc. But a no-joke coach — who is actually quite humorous — listens much better than he’s given credit for and knows he must evolve as his team does.
The Texans’ 2015 resurrection was partly founded on O’Brien loosening his grip and breathing life back into NRG. This year, he’s attempting to do two things at once: notice everything but only focus on the things that matter.
“That’s something to me that’s important — to communicate with the players and how I deal with them,” O’Brien said. “And just overall for me, I’ve got to be really detailed this year. I think I am detailed. But I just want to really make sure that we’re coaching every detail this year, so these guys know what we’re trying to get done.” Enhance, change, communication. Three simple words for the biggest coaching name in Houston — a guy who can always breathe fire when he wants to.
The next phase for these Texans, who are starting to look like a modern NFL team is supposed to in 2016.