Texans Fire Bill O'Brien

Photo courtesy of Eric Sauseda

The Houston Texans have fired head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien, effective immediately.

O'Brien's tenure as leader of the Texans was one of immediate but short-lived success. After being hired from Penn State on New Year's Eve in 2013, his first three seasons saw the Texans go 9-7 three straight times, making the playoffs in both 2015 and 2016. Neither of those runs saw the Texans make it past the Divisional Round.

After a poor 4-12 season in 2017, the Texans responded with two first place finishes in the AFC South, going 11-5 in 2018 and 10-6 in 2019, in large part thanks to the emergence of young quarterback Deshaun Watson. As was the case in 2015 and 2016 however, the Texans once again failed to make it past the Divisional Round.

O'Brien's stint as general manager, beginning in January of 2020, was marred by questionable decisions, chief of which was trading away star receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for a meager return in David Johnson, a second-round pick in 2020, and a fourth-round pick in 2021.

O'Brien was also reported to have had conflicts with multiple players during his time as head coach, including with former first overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, which potentially aided in his trade to the Seattle Seahawks, also for a meager return.

All in all, O'Brien went 52-48 leading the Texans. He departs as the only coach in franchise history with a winning record.

Romeo Crennel will assume temporary head coaching duties, while Jack Easterby will lead football operations as the interim general manager.