9 NFL coach-GMs like the Texans’ Bill O’Brien who had success

The Houston Texans have a coach and general manager in Bill O’Brien. Here are nine other NFL coaches who had success while being their team’s GM.

Bill Walsh

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When the San Francisco 49ers hired Walsh in 1979, they saddled him with being general manager. After going 8-24 the first two seasons, the 49ers had a breakthrough in 1981 when they posted a 13-3 record and earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC. With “The Catch” aiding the 49ers to beat the Dallas Cowboys for the conference title, San Francisco earned their first Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Walsh gave up the general manager role after that championship season, but won two more titles with the 49ers. In 1999, Walsh returned to San Francisco as their general manager for three years with Steve Mariucci as coach.