Solidifying the AFC South title for the sixth time this decade, and fourth time in the last five years, shouldn’t be overlooked, especially considering the perpetual inconsistencies suffered due to injuries, coaching, or flat out bad days the Houston Texans have had in 2019.
Though widely considered a disappointing coaching performance on behalf of Bill O’Brien and his coaching staff thus far, obstacles were faced and O’Brien and the Texans took the first step to quiet the noise, and that’s clinching a playoff berth. This is a direct effect of O’Brien, but in his different role, as working with a five-man general managing council.
The question of bringing O’Brien back in his coaching role is warranted as the concerns of play-calling, time management, and a considerable amount of other criticism that can be placed upon his decisions. However, as a front office guy, he saved the season.
After firing Brian Gaine as general manager on June 7, the Texans made an uncanny decision to not hire an official general manager, instead appointing Chris Olsen, the senior vice president of football administration, as the interim general manager. But that is an “in name only” type of role, as O’Brien has been influential in the talent acquisition since Gaine’s firing.
When the Texans failed to lure New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, they rolled with Olsen, O’Brien, Matt Bazirgan (director of player personnel), James Liipfert (director of college scouting), and Jack Easterby (executive vice president, team development). This interim solution could be the new status quo as the Texans reportedly will not consider hiring a new general manager when the season is over.
However, to say it’s the wrong move would be to discredit the moves that’s aided Houston to win their division.
The Texans made the right decision sticking with O’Brien’s band of acting general managers.
Since O’Brien started to have considerably more sway with the front office after the firing of Gaine, the Texans have traded RB Duke Johnson (Aug. 8), LT Laremy Tunsil, WR Kenny Stills, RB Carlos Hyde (all Aug. 31 acquisitions). Johnson was to replace D’Onta Foreman as a complementary back to starter Lamar Miller, Tunsil was to fix the second wave free agency solutions at left tackle, Stills was to be an insurance policy in case receivers Keke Coutee and/or Will Fuller got hurt, and Hyde was to replace Miller, who was lost for the season in the third preseason game with a torn ACL.
Tunsil’s impact has been noted and rewarded, as he has been selected to his first Pro Bowl in addition to reducing quarterback Deshaun Watson’s sack numbers from 62 to 44 with Week 17 still to play.
For Hyde, he broke the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career and helped the Texans rank in the top-10 for rushing yards per game. Johnson has been a part of the solution with 79 carries for a career-high 398 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Stills has been a huge addition to a receiving corps with 40 catches for 561 yards and four touchdowns.
All four of these players were late-minute solutions to problems that could have rendered Houston in the irrelevant bin along with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts by the time the full attrition of the season hit the Texans’ roster.
When the injuries did hit the Texans, as they hit virtually every team throughout the year, Houston adapted and traded for former first-round pick Gareon Conley to shore up their cornerback group after a swath of injuries that hit starters Bradley Roby and Johnathan Joseph along with rookie Lonnie Johnson. Before arriving in Houston, Conley allowed a passer rating of 126.0. Since being traded to Houston, he’s reduced that to 89.9. He’s also slashed his allowed completion percentage from 69.2, to 46.4.
Whether or not O’Brien should stick around as coach of the Texans will always be an honest conversation and will continue based on the team’s performance in the postseason. However, the Texans’ front office did their due diligence with finding talented players to fill voids that would have hurt any Texans playoff run by orchestrating a roster when odds and time were against them.
Getting protection for their franchise quarteback, filling the needs in the backfield after losing Miller to an ACL injury and giving up on Foreman, and adding two former first-round picks in Conley and Vernon Hargreaves to your secondary, all while not having a full offseason should guarantee another year to continue to build this roster into a true championship contender.
The one area where the Texans could have done better is the handling of the Jadeveon Clowney trade. However, was it really that bad of a trade when the Texans got off the hook for paying that kind of money for a pass rusher who has fewer sacks (3.0) than Jacob Martin (3.5) despite playing more snaps (574 to 220)? Plus, the Texans will reportedly have $74.3 million in cap space in 2020, the sixth-highest in the NFL.
The Tunsil trade is the most solid move the five-man general managing council and O’Brien made thus far. The trade ensures Watson, the franchise quarterback and reason for the team’s consecutive double-digit win seasons, can keep the team competitive year in and year out, game in and game out. Tunsil has allowed three sacks on the season, and has done an exceptional job playing through midseason injuries all the while setting Houston up for the future.
With more preparation and continuity, the next step could be towards the Super Bowl.