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Houston Texans Rumors: Bill O’Brien, Texans Could “Agree To Part Ways”?

Wherein we talk about the rumor that the Texans and Bill O’Brien could mutually decide to end their relationship after the Texans’ season ends.

By Tim
Los Angeles Lakers v Houston Rockets
OB and Rick in happier times (e.g., right after O’Brien was hired).
Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Shortly before the Texans kicked off their final regular season game of the season against the Titans last Sunday, Jay Glazer sent out the following tweet:

We didn’t immediately post about it here because (1) there was a Texans game about to start; (2) who the Texans would face in the playoffs was a more pressing topic; and (3) rumors of Bill O’Brien and management (specifically Rick Smith) butting heads is not exactly new ground.

That said, Jay Glazer is legit. He’s not a guy whose reporting should be dismissed; I’d consider him one of the most credible NFL reporters out there. In light of Glazer being the guy reporting a possible impending exit for Bill O’Brien, the rumored history of conflict between OB and management, the fiasco that Brock Osweiler’s season in Houston has been to this point (including but not limited to the debate over whose decision it was to sign Osweiler in the first place), the latest layer to the rumored dispute is certainly worthy of a post.

I felt that way before I came across the following nugget this morning. It’s reportedly a transcript of what Lance Zierlein said on his morning show on Sports Talk 790 earlier this week.

Recall that the first question Bill O’Brien fielded from the media on Monday was about Glazer’s report:

A report yesterday said that if you lose this playoff game, then you and the Texans could have a mutual parting. What do you think about that?

“I mean, I don’t think about that. I just think about this team and concentrating on the Oakland game and how far we’ve come. I don’t know - again, I don’t address those things. I just talk about where we’re at right now. I mean, I don’t even know if that’s even worthy of an answer.”

Not exactly a heated denial of the veracity of what Glazer said, is it? That’s disheartening for those of us who think O’Brien has done yeoman work during his time in Houston. It could also pose a distraction for a team that has a playoff game on Saturday afternoon and has made yet another quarterback change.

I imagine we’ll have more on this later as the story develops. In the meantime, what’s your reaction to these reports?

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