The Houston Texans had a shakeup in their coaching staff when they fired Bill O’Brien on Oct. 5.
After an 0-4 start, the Texans promoted associated head coach Romeo Crennel to the interim role. It would have been easy for the 73-year-old to just get upfield to the end of the season, but inside linebacker Tyrell Adams says Crennel legitimately invested in the players.
“Considering the circumstances, he’s came straight in and believed in us,” Adams said. “That’s the biggest thing. He’s a positive guy, always been a positive guy since I’ve been around him. I just love his attitude, his belief in all the players, no matter who you are.”
One of Crennel’s biggest tasks when taking over for O’Brien was giving the team time to understand the changes to the systems on offense and defense. The glitch in comprehension needed time to work out.
“Well, I think the big difference is that they are understanding the system on defense and on offense, and how they fit in the system and what needs to be done to make the system work,” Crennel said. “As a result of it, we’ve gotten better. We are a competitive team. We always play hard and fight, but we haven’t been doing enough of the little things to put us over the hump.”
The Texans may have gotten over that hump with a 27-20 win over the New England Patriots Sunday at NRG Stadium. It was the first time all season Houston beat someone else other than the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Now the focus is on this Thanksgiving Day game on a short week is to not rest on any laurels because we don’t have any,” said Crennel. “We need to get ready to play a game and win the next game.”
During the short week, Crennel will be doing what he has done since October in keeping the spirits of every player high throughout the locker room.
Said Adams: “He’s just positivity. He’s always trying to make a joke. Always trying to make us smile. Keep us uplifted. Keep us into the game. Keep us with everything that’s going on, despite the circumstances, he still keeps a positive attitude. We really appreciate him for that.”
If Crennel can get the Texans to beat the Lions, it will be their first winning streak of the season and the team’s first since Weeks 15-16 of 2019.