SB Nation FanPulse: Why Does Anyone Think Bill O’Brien Is On The Hot Seat?

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Like it or not, Bill O’Brien is firmly ensconced in a position of power at NRG Park. He’s not only the Texans’ head coach; he’s also one of the four (4) people who are performing the duties of Houston’s general manager this season. Although it’s not entirely clear whether all four of the aforementioned acting general managers has equal sway, or if O’Brien is the de facto head of the crew, we do know that O’Brien was the point man for Houston in the negotiations with the Browns to acquire Duke Johnson via trade. That doesn’t necessarily mean O’Brien was also the leading voice in the recent transactions that saw Jadeveon Clowney shipped to Seattle, Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills come to Houston, or Aaron Colvin and Trevor Daniel released, but it’s certainly reasonable to theorize that O’Brien was, or at the very least had a sizable role in how those things went down.

All of that is to say that I reckon Bill O’Brien should feel fairly secure about his place with the Texans these days. Thus, I was rather surprised to see his name as one of five choices given in last week’s survey question about which NFL head coach would be fired first in 2019.

Do you see any realistic scenario in which O’Brien could be fired during the 2019 season? Because I don’t.

What about after the 2019 season? What would have to happen for the Texans to decide to go in an entirely different direction from the one they’re clearly committed to?