With The First Pick
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Bill O’Brien leaves Texans, new regime in undesirable situation

By Cory Kinnan

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 27: Head coach Bill O'Brien of the Houston Texans looks on during the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on September 27, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 27: Head coach Bill O'Brien of the Houston Texans looks on during the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on September 27, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /
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The Texans have been left in shambles from Bill O'Brien's reign
The Texans have been left in shambles from Bill O’Brien’s reign. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

The Texans have been left in shambles from Bill O’Brien’s reign

Six years and some change. This was the time head coach Bill O’Brien spent with the Houston Texans. That was until today as, in some NFL news,  he has been relieved from both of his duties as head coach and general manager just moments after stating he would take over playcalling duties.

Former NFL head coach Romeo Crennel will be taking over for O’Brien, but the long term status of both the head coaching job and general manager have a dark cloud over them. The cloud shading these jobs are the scars left by O’Brien during his reign, specifically over the last two seasons.

Next general manager of Texans has their work cut out

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The timeline of the moves O’Brien made over the past two seasons directly muddies the outlook of the Texans, who currently sit at 0-4 and have no first or second round draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Going back to the summer of 2019, O’Brien shipped off two first and a second round picks to the Miami Dolphins for left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills.

This trade is not completely outlandish as he was able to land quarterback Deshaun Watson one of the best and young left tackles in the game. However, the addition of Stills muddied it as the wide receiver position in Houston has been… interesting.

O’Brien, not wanting to give star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins a new contract, traded him and a fourth round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for a second and fifth round pick, and aging an ineffective running back David Johnson. He then turned around and traded that second round pick for former Saints, Patriots, and Rams wide receiver Brandon Cooks.

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This leaves the new general manager with no picks in the first or second round, an aging roster, and limited cap space after O’Brien handed out a handful of massive contracts. The Texans’ ownership will now look to hire a general manager first, then hand off the head coaching hire to them in order to create harmony between the two jobs. The team they are taking over, however, has an uphill battle to clean things up.

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