Is It Time To Say Goodbye To Bill O’Brien?

Rarely in NFL history has a head coach had a riches-to-rags to riches story when it comes to coaching success. When Bob McNair hired Bill O’Brien, O’Brien was touted as the best head coaching candidate in all the land. An offensive super-genius, quarterback guru, and otherwise hot commodity, O’Brien woudl take over a team that went 12-4 just one season prior to his arrival. He should have been a shoe-in to take the Texans to the next level.

Well, here we sit, seven seasons into O’Brien’s reign, and the team has yet to improve back to a 12-4 record or advance a step closer to Super Bowl glory than they had before O’Brien moved to Houston.

Prior to the 2019 season beginning, O’Brien pulled off the now infamous Jadeveon Clowney trade, which was widely panned as one of the worst trades in NFL history.

Not to be outdone by past success, O’Brien followed that up by trading away DeAndre Hopkins in 2020. That decision was labeled by many as the worst move of the NFL offseason.

Through all this, O’Brien has begged the fanbase to have faith in his process.

The Texans have one of the best quarterbacks to come along in years in Deshaun Watson and an “offensive super-genius and quarterback guru” in Bill O’Brien. Yet the Texans offense continually struggles to break out of the below average scoring ranks.

The Texans’ defense lost Jadeveon Clowney—who is now set to terrorize the Texans offense twice a year since joining the division rival Tennessee Titans—and quickly plummeted to one of the worst unitsin the league.

In the last two Texans games, both against the Kansas City Chiefs, Bill O’Brien’s “process” has led to two embarrassing loses on national television to the tune of 85-44. While most owners would have cleaned house after the debacle in the 2019 divisional round of the NFL Playoffs, O’Brien’s team lost a 24-0 lead and got utterly pantsed by Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs, Cal McNair kept O’Brien the head coach and general manager around.

What has O’Brien done with this?

• Jettisoned one of the, if not THE, best receiver in the league.
• Made no improvements to the defense, which gave up 51 points in the aforementioned divisional round.
• Lost in spectacular fashion AGAIN to Patrick Mahomes and a rookie running back in the 2020 season opener.

Here’s how O’Brien is addressing Houston’s roster to correct this latest shortcoming:

None of these guys is a game changer. None of them will shore up the leaking secondary, take heat off J.J. Watt, give Deshaun Watson time in the pocket, or elevate the Texans’ overall points per game. As BFD is often fond of saying, it appears Bill O’Brien is “playing checkers when everyone else is playing chess.”

Looking at O’Brien’s extensions and deals with Laremy Tunsil, Kai’imi Fairbairn, Brandin Cooks, and a litany of other gaffes, it’s hard to see daylight in Houston’s future. With Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens next on the schedule, with Damon Harrison, Eric Reid, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and several other quality players still riding the couch waiting for a phone call, O’Brien chooses to sift through Cleveland Browns castoffs, hoping his ineffective game plans, inability to manage the clock, and failure to adjust in-game to changing situations will suddenly work in Houston’s favor.

Enough is enough. It’s time to say goodbye to the Bill O’Brien era. Lure a real general manager to Houston, let him (or her) bring in a quality head coach, and save the rest of Deshaun Watson’s career before it’s too late.

What do you think?

Vote in the poll (don’t be a fool and spam it; vote just once so we have some integrity here) and then let us know why you voted the way you did.