Texans Hire Bill O'Brien as Head Coach

[Keith]

Being reported now...happy new year!

[chuck]

Originally Posted by Keith

Being reported now...happy new year!

Well! Happy 2014, everyone.

[Joshua]

I like it hope it works out

[WMH]

@AdamSchefter: Filed to ESPN from me and @mortreport: Bill O'Brien has reached agreement to become the new head coach of the Houston Texans, per sources.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by Joshua

I like it hope it works out

Who the hell knows how this will turn out but at least it appears that he offers a very different personality to the two prior coaches and that can't be bad. Judging from what has been said and written he'll stress intelligence and accountability, two things that the Texans have not enjoyed in over-abundance.

[BigBull]

I just hope O'Brien makes good choices for oc and dc.

[Keith]

Interesting local article on O'Brien and an interaction between him and a reporter a few weeks ago. O'Brien said right around the same time the Texans lost a second time to the Jags he would be gone from PSU in a month.

I grew to like the guy over two years because his personality is one I can understand. Like me, he tends toward boil-overs with multiple and often comical strings of F-bombs. While some people don’t understand that type of behavior, I think such venting is healthy as long as it doesn’t verbally abuse anyone. And O’Brien wasn’t venting at me, just to me.

Some of his frustrations revolved around what he saw as the lack of leadership at Penn State and his desire simply to fulfill his job description as the football coach, not university figurehead. ...

He’s made no secret that the NFL is his destination. He adores the pro game, the purity of it, without the university politics and pretense of the college version.

http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index...der_arriv.html

[Warren]

Here is an in-depth profile of O'Brien written before his first season at Penn State.

To kick off the speculation about his staff, based on past connections I'll toss out the names of Mark Whipple as a possible QB coach (if he doesn't get the UMass job) and Pat Hill (recently fired by the Falcons) as OL coach.

[Keith]

I know someone interested in the special teams job but can't say (sorry for the tease). Would be great to have him here though.

As for DC, I don't think either Eric Mangini or Romeo Crennel have direct connections to O'Brien (both were gone from NE when O'Brien was there), but both are apparently available for hire if desired. Mangini is currently an offensive consultant (ironically enough) for the 49ers while I don't believe Crennel is employed anywhere right now.

[WMH]

@MarkBermanFox26: NFL sources: new Texans head coach Bill O'Brien agreed to a 5 year contract.

[HPF Bob]

Part of the reason Houston sports continues to seem minor league is that they never hire top guys who have held the job before. O'Brien fits the trend. Dom Capers and Phil Garner were seemingly the exceptions to the rule but typically it's "first time NFL head coach" or "first time MLB manager". Really hard to expect champions from people who need their own learning curve.

Anyway, best of luck to "The Dimple" or (now that I've read the comments above) "The F---ing Dimple". Just don't talk like that around Mr. McNair.

And Happy New Year, everyone. May 2014 be a huge improvement over 2013, especially for Houston sports teams.

[Warren]

Penn Live is reporting WR coach Stan Hixon is joining the Texans staff.

[popanot]

Supposedly Ray Horton (Browns DC) will be let out of his contract. I hope O'Brien considers him if that's the case. I want nothing to do with Wade at this point.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Part of the reason Houston sports continues to seem minor league is that they never hire top guys who have held the job before. O'Brien fits the trend. Dom Capers and Phil Garner were seemingly the exceptions to the rule but typically it's "first time NFL head coach" or "first time MLB manager". Really hard to expect champions from people who need their own learning curve.

Anyway, best of luck to "The Dimple" or (now that I've read the comments above) "The F---ing Dimple". Just don't talk like that around Mr. McNair.

And Happy New Year, everyone. May 2014 be a huge improvement over 2013, especially for Houston sports teams.

Like Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, Sean Payton, etc...

[chuck]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Just don't talk like that around Mr. McNair.

See, this is exactly what I like about this hire, that it seems so counter to the other two guys. I'm sure that O'Brien knows how to behave in polite company but I'm also sure that he doesn't much care who's put off by salty language when he steps onto the practice field.

[Keith]

Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora3h
Assistants Bill O'Brien will want to bring to HOU- Stan Hixon from Penn State (formerly coaches WRs in NFL); Pats TE coach George Godsey
https://twitter.com/JasonLaCanfora/s...86544471973890

Godsey has deep ties to O'Brien. Played QB at Georgia Tech when O'Brien coached there. Coached for O'Leary at UCF (QBs & RBs) before coming to the Pats in 2011.

[HPF Bob]

Originally Posted by barrett

Like Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, Sean Payton, etc...

Ignoring, of course, the hundreds of first-time head coaches who didn't pan out. Tomlin, FWIW, inherited Bill Cowher's team and many of his coaches. Harbaugh inherited those veteran Raven defenders.

O'Brien might have hit the jackpot inheriting Kubiak's team and will get kudos for leading them back above .500 in the next year or two. The Texans aren't loaded but they have some Pro Bowlers on both sides of the ball.

I just find it odd how often my team's tell us they will leave no stone unturned bringing in the best available coach/manager only to have that person be somebody who has never before held a head job at the top level.

Well, you can't accuse McNair of being cheap, not when it costs $6.5 million just to get O'Brien back to the NFL.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Ignoring, of course, the hundreds of first-time head coaches who didn't pan out. Tomlin, FWIW, inherited Bill Cowher's team and many of his coaches. Harbaugh inherited those veteran Raven defenders.

O'Brien might have hit the jackpot inheriting Kubiak's team and will get kudos for leading them back above .500 in the next year or two. The Texans aren't loaded but they have some Pro Bowlers on both sides of the ball.

I just find it odd how often my team's tell us they will leave no stone unturned bringing in the best available coach/manager only to have that person be somebody who has never before held a head job at the top level.

Well, you can't accuse McNair of being cheap, not when it costs $6.5 million just to get O'Brien back to the NFL.

If I am ignoring those hundreds of 1st time failures, are you ignoring the hundreds of retread failures?

You made a comment not based on any kind of fact and I mentioned off the top of my head 3 superbowl winning coaches in the past 10 years who had never been head coaches (and add Mike McCarthy after I just looked it up).

I just took the time to look up the 12 playoff coaches.

Fox, Bellachik, Reid, and Carrol are previous HCs.

Lewis, Pagano, Kelly, Mike McCoy, McCarthy, Rivera, Payton, and Harbaugh are all 1st time NFL HCs.

Nothing in recent NFL history says anything about retread coaches being better at winning than 1st timers. There is nothing minor league about hiring a 1st time NFL HC, and it is not hard to expect champions from 1st time guys.

[Keith]

O'Brien is a first time NFL head coach, but not a first time head coach... that was a key line item in McNair's wish list that ought to separate him from the early learning curves of Gary Kubiak.

O'Brien likely won't be easing his way into the role, getting guidance from guys like Mike Sherman the way Kubiak did. And hopefully he learned from what happened to Josh McDaniels in Denver too.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Keith

O'Brien is a first time NFL head coach, but not a first time head coach... that was a key line item in McNair's wish list that ought to separate him from the early learning curves of Gary Kubiak.

O'Brien likely won't be easing his way into the role, getting guidance from guys like Mike Sherman the way Kubiak did. And hopefully he learned from what happened to Josh McDaniels in Denver too.

I like the hire, but that is my one concern. McDaniels just wanted so badly to be the man in Denver and had such an ego, that he immediately went to work eliminating anyone who threatened his view of himself. He had to do it HIS way with HIS guys. And because of that, a guy who was a very good football mind was a very bad HC his first try.

O'Brien seems to be another Tyrant type (not necessarily a bad thing). I just hope he can work with the rest of the front office here, hire assistants that are more than yes men, and not dump talent simply because he didn't acquire it. It will break my heart if Watt goes because he "wouldn't get with the program in OTAs" or something dumb like that.

But overall, he was the most sought after candidate available (if you don't count guys who were not really available like Gruden), he is the offensive mind I was hoping for, and he will give this team some toughness.