After a loss last weekend to the Minnesota Vikings dropped the Houston Texans to 0-4 to start the season, the organization decided to move on from Head Coach and General Manager Bill O’Brien.
The news seemed to be on the horizon for weeks, as O’Brien was on thin ice after a lack of success and questionable personnel decisions including trading star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for just a running back and a second round pick.
Well, the situation got a little more complicated this week as reports surfaced that star defensive end and former Badger J.J. Watt got into a heated exchange at practice with his coach heading into the team’s Week 3 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Related: J.J. Watt posts cryptic Tweet after Bill O’Brien’s firing
An article by USA TODAY’s Chris Bumbaca explains the situation:
“The blowup, which involved defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, resulted in O’Brien losing the trust of his players and staff, according to reports. The Steelers defeated the Texans and, following another loss the next week to the then-winless Minnesota Vikings to drop to 0-4, team owner Cal McNair fired O’Brien, who went 52-48 in six-plus seasons.”
Watt then proceeded to post what many saw as a cryptic tweet after the game, possibly referring to the fresh start that comes with O’Brien’s departure.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 6, 2020
Watt spoke with reporters after the firing, saying “I don’t know, I’m not going to talk about what happened at practice and what conversations were had. Right now, we have a fresh start.”
The Texans now turn to Romeo Crennel as their interim head coach and Jack Easterby as general manager, hoping a fresh start at both positions will help the team turn around what has been a challenging season thus far.