Tag: front office

Texans coach Bill O’Brien’s secret to winning in January: Layers

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says the key to winning in January is to have layers of productive players on the roster.

After the Houston Texans flopped against the Kansas City Chiefs 51-31 in the AFC divisional playoffs on Jan. 12, coach Bill O’Brien and his staff delved into the research of what it takes to win in January and beyond.

According to O’Brien, who was given full-time general manager duties on Jan. 28, his staff is “more convicted than ever” that the key to win in the postseason is to have “layers” of productive players.

“Obviously we’ve got players that are Pro Bowl players, we’ve got players that are tremendous role players, but really the key to having the best team is to have a room full of productive players — layers and layers of productive players relative to what their roles are on the football team,” O’Brien told the Houston media on a conference call Thursday.

All O’Brien has achieved in his six seasons with the Texans are two wild-card playoff wins and early division exits. While the club has won the AFC South four times in the past six seasons, the Texans still have yet to appear in an AFC Championship Game, an achievement that appeared it was going to happen when Houston led 24-0 over Kansas City in the divisional playoffs.

“We know that the goal is to get beyond that, but we’ve studied, we’ve researched,” said O’Brien. “I think this time has given myself and our staff a lot of time to reflect, and obviously I know we want to be better, but I think if you look back to — let’s just call it August, the end of last July, August — I don’t think either myself or anybody involved with the Texans or even our fans would have thought that some of the moves that we made would have worked out the way they worked out.”

On Aug. 31, the Texans traded second-year offensive tackle Martinas Rankin to the Chiefs for running back Carlos Hyde, who then rushed for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his six-year career.

As part of the trading of Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks, also on Aug. 31, the Texans acquired edge rushers Jacob Martin and Barkevious Mingo. In the playoffs alone, Martin’s sack against the Buffalo Bills helped win the wild-card game, and Mingo’s blocked punt that cornerback Lonnie Johnson returned for a touchdown was a tremendous momentum boost early in the game.

Trading their 2020 sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots on Aug. 31 netted cornerback Keion Crossen, a key special teamer, and a Week 7 trade for Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley gave Houston much needed depth.

“The key to having the best team is not just having the best player,” said O’Brein. “We have a lot of really good players.”

With seven picks in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft, the Texans have to determine a way to keep adding layers to their productive roster.

Texans chairman Cal McNair must choose either Bill O’Brien or Deshaun Watson

At some point Houston Texans chairman Cal McNair may need to choose between coach Bill O’Brien and QB Deshaun Watson for the good of the franchise.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones infamously stated after his team won their second straight Super Bowl that any one of 500 coaches could have produced championship success with his team, downplaying the effect coach Jimmy Johnson had with procuring those Lombardi Trophies.

Jones actually proved to be right. Two seasons after parting ways with Johnson, former Oklahoma Sooners football coach Barry Switzer led Dallas to a win in Super Bowl XXX, their last championship to date.

The Houston Texans in the Super Bowl is a dream only Houston sports fans can realize in franchise mode on Madden, but it is a reality chairman and CEO Cal McNair has taken over since his father’s passing in November of 2018.

McNair is soon going to have to make a tough decision at the end of either the 2020 season or the year thereafter: does the franchise keep Bill O’Brien or do we keep Deshaun Watson?

The fact is Watson has been posting passive aggressive lyrics on Twitter that indicate he is displeased with the direction of the franchise, especially since the trading of three-time All-Pro wideout DeAndre Hopkins. After all, he had a fairly positive outlook the front office would add talent in free agency, not diminish it.

And make no mistake that Watson is aware of the chatter on the internet and social media that Las Vegas has him as the odds-on favorite to be the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback in 2021. A cursory Google search of the term “Deshaun Watson Patriots” gathers over four million results alone.

There is an old adage that “winning cures all.” If the O’Brien way leads to Houston making its first conference title game appearance in club history, or even going further in the postseason, the offseason grievances will be immaterial.

However, if the Texans fail to even repeat as AFC South champions, if Watson is getting beat down because he feels he has to do it all because he lacks a No. 1 receiver, the whispering in the back of Watson’s mind could crest into roar that maybe he needs a change of scenery.

In 2021, Watson’s salary will be fully guaranteed and will take up a goodly portion of the salary cap. However, the Texans don’t have to be on the hook for it if they get rid of Watson before the start of 2021 free agency.

Don’t put it past general manager O’Brien or executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby to shop Watson, or convince McNair that for the good of the team they need a change of direction at quarterback. They traded Jadeveon Clowney, and they traded Hopkins, who was one of the franchise’s most recognizable faces league-wide.

By the way, O’Brien can convincingly make the case trading Watson won’t cripple the team, just set them back one season at most. Love him or loathe him, O’Brien has won two division titles with virtually no quarterback in 2015-16. He can win without a quarterback again if he has to. Plus, imagine the haul of draft picks Houston could get by trading Watson.

God forbid it ever gets to this point, but if it does, McNair has to choose Watson over O’Brien.

Jones’ comments about any one of 500 coaches winning with the ’90s Cowboys wasn’t wrong, not even in a general football sense. A franchise quarterback is much harder to procure than a coach or general manager.

Joe Montana didn’t win all four of his Super Bowls with Bill Walsh on the sidelines; George Seifert was the San Francisco 49ers’ boss in 1989.

John Elway led the Denver Broncos to multiple Super Bowl appearances with two different coaches: Dan Reeves in the 1980s and Mike Shanahan in the 1990s.

The Indianapolis Colts went to two different Super Bowls (XLI and XLIV), but with the same quarterback (Peyton Manning) and two separate coaches (Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell).

Speaking of Manning, the same scenario played out in Denver with John Fox coaching in Super Bowl XLVIII and Gary Kubiak coaching in Super Bowl 50.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls with two different coaches, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin.

Teams spend so many years and resources trying to land a franchise quarterback. It isn’t as easy as calling 1-800-Quarterback. Ask the Chicago Bears how successful they have been.

If the quarterback is great enough, you keep the quarterback. Watson has proven in his three seasons with the Texans that he is a capable enough field general to keep Houston competitive.

Before Watson, and the 2017 season and Week 17 of 2019 will be excluded to be fair to both sides, O’Brien had 12 games he lost by two scores or more.

Since 2018, the Texans have lost a grand total of three games (2018 wild-card, Week 11 of 2019, Week 14 of 2019) by two scores or more.

The Texans are never out of it with Watson under center. Things have to go according to plan for O’Brien’s teams to get a win.

“I was encouraged by the progress that our team made on the field this year which was due in part to our new structure, operating approach and the leaders within our football operations group,” McNair said in a statement on Jan. 28 after the announcement of O’Brien and Easterby’s promotions. “I am proud that we provided our fans with many thrilling victories at home, including a playoff win, and we delivered another double-digit win season.

“Our fans deserve that, but now it is time for the organization to get back to work toward our pursuit of a world championship for the city of Houston.”

If the Texans don’t make any progress towards that world championship in 2020, McNair will have to evaluate whether the status quo is trending towards that outcome. If O’Brien and Easterby are advocating the loss of Watson, or if Watson is at risk of leaving the organization, McNair has to choose the franchise quarterback.

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Who is managing the Texans’ salary cap?

The Houston Texans are in their first free agency period without Chris Olsen since 2007. Who is managing their salary cap space now?

The Houston Texans are in their first free agency period without Chris Olsen managing the salary cap. Olsen was relieved of his duties as senior vice president of football administration on Jan. 19, a post he had held since 2007.

Who is managing the Texans’ salary cap now?

Meet Kevin Krajcovic, the football administration coordinator for the Texans, who got the title in 2019. The Ohio University alumnus assisted Olsen with negotiating player contracts and also the club’s salary cap.

Krajcovic isn’t exactly new to the operation as he spent the last seven seasons with the Texans as a football administration analyst. Prior to that, Krajcovic, who holds two master’s degrees in sports administration and business administration, was an intern with the Texans for two seasons.

The Texans have the fourth-highest salary cap space in the NFL at $46.2 million, according to Over The Cap. Krajcovic has learned well from Olsen. the Texans need Krajcovic to keep count of the cap dollars as they attempt to re-sign left tackle Laremy Tunsil to presumably the largest contract for an offensive lineman in the NFL and also negotiate an extension with Deshaun Watson.

Texans fans petition Cal McNair to fire Bill O’Brien over DeAndre Hopkins trade

Houston Texans fans have been making petitions asking Cal McNair to fire coach and general manager Bill O’Brien for trading WR DeAndre Hopkins.

To say Houston Texans fans are angry about the trade of DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals is putting it mildly.

According to the online petition site Change.org, Texans fans have started 10 petitions since March 16 asking that coach and general manager Bill O’Brien be fired.

Chance Diaz from Houston said in his petition entitled “Fire Bill O’Brien” that he is at his “wit’s end” with the Texans:

They continue to prove time and again they have no idea how to run a football team and it all stems from one man, Bill O’Brien. You would think after last season the front office would have done anything possible to protect Deshaun but the O-line is not significantly better than last season and now we have lost our second best defensive player. In exchange for Clowney we received backups and a 3rd pick. Change needs to occur and it starts with getting rid of the head coach. Even if Bill O’Brien doesn’t get fired they need to know how bad their decision making is.

Fans overreacting to a big loss is one thing. After all, there are among the 45 petitions that render when searching for “Bill O’Brien” petitions that ask for his removal following Week 4’s loss to the Carolina Panthers. However, trading a three-time All-Pro who represented the franchise well struck a chord with Texans fans.

Trading away Hopkins for All-Pro running back David Johnson is a huge gamble on O’Brien’s part, one that puts his reputation with chairman and CEO Cal McNair on the line. The trade also strains any credibility O’Brien had left with the fans.

As the old adage goes: “Winning cures all.” The problem is there’s nine months still to go until O’Brien can prove his way works. Until then, it’s an offseason of discontent with Houston sports fans zeroed in on the loss of Hopkins as the Houston Rockets and Houston Astros are put on ice thanks to the COVID-19 social distancing measures.

NFL cancels annual owners meeting amid novel coronavirus concerns

The NFL has canceled their annual owners meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., due to concerns over the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

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The NFL announced Thursday they are canceling the upcoming annual owners meeting scheduled for March 29 through April 1.

According to a statement released by the NFL, commissioner Roger Goodell informed franchises after “careful consideration and consultation with medical experts.”

The business that was to be discussed at the owners meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., will be moved to the NFL’s spring meetings May 19-20 in Marina Del Ray, Calif. That is the first chance owners and members of the various committees will have a chance to vote on playing rules, bylaws, resolutions, and other business matters. Coaches and general managers will also be available for comment at that meeting, when normally they aren’t during the spring meetings.

The NFL also said they will, “closely monitor developments, consult with leading experts, and be prepared to make any changes necessary as circumstances warrant.”

The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has claimed the lives of 39 Americans with over 1,300 confirmed cases. The NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB, and major college sports have postponed their seasons and events in response to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien says NFL Scouting Combine is no different for him now that he is general manager

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says that the NFL Scouting Combine is no different for him now that he is the club’s general manager.

INDIANAPOLIS — A year ago, the Houston Texans’ general manager at the NFL Scouting Combine was Brian Gaine.

Now, it is coach Bill O’Brien, and even though the 50-year-old coach is doubling up with general manager duties, he claims the combine is no different for him in 2020 than it has been any other year.

“Not much,” O’Brien told reporters when asked how the combine was different for him now that he is GM. “I think that we have a great team of people that have done, in my opinion, a great job of preparing us for the combine.”

The combine is more so the “big game” for director of college scouting James Liipfert and director of player personnel Matt Bazirgan. It is a chance to evaluate incoming talent; their time to shine.

“Matt Bazirgan, James Liipfert, those guys and all the college scouts, especially relative to this week, have done an excellent job of preparing us a week ago for this week,” said O’Brien. “We’ve had some good meetings. I feel like we’re in a good spot relative to what we’re going to be looking at, who we’re going to be evaluating, interviewing and all that.”

What the Texans have to do, and what O’Brien must do regardless of his title, is help the staff focus, especially given their paucity of draft picks with their first one kicking off at No. 57 overall deep in the second round.

Said O’Brien: “I think for me it’s just about making sure that we pay close attention to what we need to pay close attention to and just communicate with everybody and make sure we’re all headed in the right direction.”

The Texans have had informal interviews with QB Jake Luton, WR Devin Duvernay, and WR Denzel Mims.

Former Saints running back Darren Sproles hired for Eagles consulting job

The Philadelphia Eagles hired retired NFL running back Darren Sproles, formerly of the Saints and Chargers, as a personnel consultant.

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Here’s a new career turn for Darren Sproles, the former New Orleans Saints running back. While 2019 was his last season as a player, having ended his career with the Philadelphia Eagles (who acquired him in a trade with the Saints back in 2014), the Eagles announced Friday that Sproles is one of many new additions to their organization. In fact, he’s one of several former Eagles players to join the front office.

Sproles will continue to work with the Eagles as a personnel consultant, along with his former teammate Brent Celek. While they will both work in the personnel department, former Eagles pass rusher Connor Barwin was also hired as special assistant to general manager Howie Roseman.

It’s not that surprising to see Sproles hang around with a team he’s grown loyal to. The 36-year-old appeared in 63 games for Philadelphia, including the playoffs, which is more than he played with the Saints (48). He also started his career with the then-San Diego Chargers, playing 84 games on the West Coast before following Drew Brees to New Orleans as an unrestricted free agent in 2011. He ended his career with the fifth-most yards from scrimmage in NFL history.

Now he’ll get to help scout the next generation of NFL stars. As a personnel consultant, he’ll probably be working as a part-time scout by evaluating game film of college prospects or pending free agents from around the league. Working as a consultant rather than a full-time area scout will be a great way for him to gain experience and help decide the next step in his career. Hopefully he doesn’t end up helping the Eagles pick a player the Saints coveted.

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7 coaching, front office changes Texans made while fans were focused on naming Bill O’Brien GM

The Houston Texans made seven changes to their coaching staff and front office along with naming Bill O’Brien the general manager.

The Houston Texans named coach Bill O’Brien the club’s fourth ever general manager in team history on Tuesday along with promoting Jack Easterby to executive vice president of football operations.

However, there were other moves the organization made to their coaching staff and front office that flew under the radar while most people were focused on the new titles given to O’Brien and Easterby. Here are seven moves that also were reported on Tuesday via the Houston Chroncile’s Aaron Wilson.

1. d’anton lynn promoted to secondary coach

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When secondary coach Anthony Midget left the Texans to join the Tennessee Titans for the same job, Houston simply promoted their assistant secondary coach to the top position. The son of Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn will have the task of coaching a unit that features young talent in safety Justin Reid and cornerback Lonnie Johnson.

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Texans chairman Cal McNair wanted Bill O’Brien, Jack Easterby’s titles to reflect their roles

Houston Texans chairman Cal McNair chose to name Bill O’Brien GM and Jack Easterby EVP of football operations to accurately reflect their roles.

Houston Texans chairman Cal McNair was behind the move to name coach Bill O’Brien general manager and elevate Jack Easterby to executive vice president of football operations.

According to a statement from the team, McNair wanted to clarify the roles between O’Brien and Easterby to accurately reflect the way the organization had been operating since the firing of Brian Gaine as general manager on June 7, 2019.

“Preparations are underway for the 2020 season and I thought it was important to update titles, roles and responsibilities for Bill O’Brien and Jack Easterby so they more accurately reflect the way we have been operating for the past eight months,” McNair said. “I was encouraged by the progress that our team made on the field this year which was due in part to our new structure, operating approach and the leaders within our football operations group.”

McNair mentioned that he was proud of the “many thrilling victories at home,” the Texans provided for their fans as part of a 10-6 record, second consecutive AFC South title, and a 22-19 overtime wild-card win against the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium.

“Our fans deserve that, but now it is time for the organization to get back to work toward our pursuit of a world championship for the city of Houston,” said McNair.

The Texans may have their roles clarified in the front office, but they still have plenty of work to do in the offseason. While the club can now negotiate with two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson on a contract extension, they may have to clear up salary cap space as they are projected to have $55.2 million in cap space, the ninth-most in the NFL. The club also has to determine how to get younger and better without a first-round pick, a challenge that faces the Texans for the next two drafts.

Report: Texans officially name coach Bill O’Brien as general manager

The Houston Texans have named coach Bill O’Brien as the club’s general manager, according to a report from the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain.

The Houston Texans have finally settled on a permanent general manager.

According to the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain, the Texans have given coach Bill O’Brien the title of general manager. The 50-year-old will become the second coach in the NFL to double up as a general manager. The other is New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, under whom O’Brien worked from 2007-11.

The Texans fired Brian Gaine as general manager on June 7, 2019, just three days before the club starting mandatory veteran minicamp. The club promoted senior vice president of football administration Chris Olsen to the interim general manager role, but a five-man council with O’Brien having heavy influence ran the Texans’ front office through the conclusion of the 2019 season.

On Jan. 19, the Texans fired Olsen.

In another move, the Texans also promoted Jack Easterby to executive vice president of football operations. Easterby had joined the Texans in the 2019 offseason as the executive vice president of team development.