Bill O’Brien: the coach
To start here, I will admit that I have never been impartial towards O’Brien. It was the absolute ineptitude of the 2-14 squad in 2013 that sparked my interest to watch football more closely and begin watching rookies myself as the Texans held the first pick in every round for the 2014 draft. Since then, O’Brien has fielded a competitive squad in nearly every season. Watching the team scrape together wins despite the presence of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallet, Brock Osweiler, and even Tom Savage during his first three years left a lasting impression.
FS1 host Colin Cowherd often uses the same parameters when discussing how good someone is at their job. When you remove someone’s best year and their worst year and then average everything out, you should have something close to the truth. This is a good tool when discussing businessmen, quarterbacks, and, in this case, O’Brien. The Bill Belichick disciple is 52-44 with Houston since joining in 2014. This has included four playoff appearances and four AFC South titles. If the strong 2018 campaign and its nine-game winning streak were removed, and the disastrous, injury-laden 2017 campaign (4-12), these numbers look slightly better. In those four seasons, O’Brien has a record of 37-27, winning 58% of his games.
Considering Watson was only present for one of those qualifying seasons (2019), it’s not a stretch to say O’Brien represents above average NFL-coaching. That said, everyone has their qualms with O’Brien’s game management throughout the years. This offseason, he’s addressed that.
At the NFL Scouting Combine last month, O’Brien announced that offensive coordinator Tim Kelly will be calling plays. Anthony Weaver has replaced the tenured Romeo Crennel as defensive coordinator. Both of these two should breathe new life into the Texans both schematically and from an energy standpoint. This should allow O’Brien to better serve as both a talent-evaluator and the ultimate clock manager for the Texans moving forward. This will certainly not be the same team from 2019.
Still, there is one final reason to trust O’Brien moving forward.