Houston Texans Fire HC and GM Bill O’Brien After 0-4 Start
The Houston Texans head coach and general manager were both fired on Monday afternoon after opening the season 0-4. The good news for the Texans is that they only needed one phone call to do so relieving Bill O'Brien of his duties in one drop of the hammer.
"I just really want to thank the McNair family, you know, Cal, Janice, Hannah, obviously the late Bob McNair for just giving me and my family this opportunity," O'Brien told the media Monday evening. "They were always very supportive and, in the end, in this business it's a bottom-line business, we weren't able to get it to where we needed to get it. I obviously have tremendous respect for their family. And again, I thank them for the opportunity that they gave me. I understand we fell short in terms of taking this team further in the playoffs, but I do leave knowing that myself and the staff gave everything this organization deserved and more."
O'Brien had won back-to-back AFC South titles, but made some questionable trades in the offseason including giving away one of the best receivers in the game for an aging and often injured running back. He was also responsible for a humiliating collapse in the playoffs last year after leading the Chiefs 24-0 in the Divisional round.
In 2020, the Texans struggled to protect franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson, struggled to stop anyone and struggled to do just about anything. After four games Texans Chairman and CEO Cal McNair had seen enough.
"I spoke with him earlier today and told him we are moving in a different direction," McNair said in his statement. "Romeo Crennel will serve as our interim head coach for the remainder of the 2020 season. We have a talented team and I have no doubt our players and staff will rally to make Texans fans proud as we aim to win championships and do great things for the city of Houston."
Romeo Crennel has been in coaching since the late 1970's and one of his first coaching jobs was as an assistant defensive coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders behind defensive coordinator Bill Parcells and head coach Steve Sloan. Crennell has been in the NFL since 1981 and is 28-55 as a head coach.
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