The Houston Texans have fired head coach-GM Bill O’Brien after an 0-4 start.
The Texans made the decision Monday, a day after they lost at Minnesota to fall to winless in four games in 2020.
Romeo Crennel becomes the team’s interim coach.
Cal McNair: “Bill was very professional. He thanked us for the opportunity and was sorry he couldn’t get us over the hump.”
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) October 5, 2020
Texans owner Cal McNair has fired Bill O'Brien as coach and GM. Details to come on https://t.co/mIDjcbdCLC
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) October 5, 2020
It is a harsh tumble for O’Brien, who led Houston to the playoffs last season and had a 24-0 lead at Kansas City in a Divisional Round game before the bottom fell out and the Texans lost 51-31.
O’Brien traded the team’s star receiver, DeAndre Hopkins in the offseason to Arizona and that deal recouped David Johnson but the wide receiver corps have not offset the loss of Hopkins.
Texans have NFL’s highest payroll this year at $248 million.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 5, 2020
O’Brien came to Houston from Penn State in 2014. His overall record with the Texans was 52-48.
Texans are 0-4 and their 2021 first- and second-round picks belong to the Miami Dolphins.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 5, 2020
Crennel has been an interim coach before. He when Todd Haley’ was fired 13 games into the 2011 season, Crennel was named the team’s interim head coach for the remaining three games of the season.
Crennel won his first game as the interim head coach of the Chiefs on Dec. 18, 2011, against the then-undefeated Green Bay Packers 19–14, which was significant as Crennel snapped the Packers’ 19-game winning streak.
Crennel finished his stint as interim head coach with a 2–1 record. However, in his tenure as a head coach for the Chiefs, Crennel would only win two more games finishing with a 4–15 overall record.