Texans would be better without Bill O’Brien

The Houston Texans are 4-7 and not making the playoffs. This despite being in a terrible AFC South and a conference that, as a whole, has no business sending six teams to the postseason. One could argue that head coach Bill O’Brien should get a free pass in his fourth season on the job.

Over the first three, the Texans went 9-7 each time, making the playoffs twice as a division winner. This spring, O’Brien and general manager Rick Smith traded up for Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson. Months later, O’Brien started Tom Savage, a fourth-year veteran who had no tangible success up to that point.

After one half of hideous football against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Watson was inserted in place of Savage. Watson proceeded to play tremendously over six starts, giving Houston the highest-scoring offense in the league during his tenure. Still, the Texans had issues that kept them from winning.

For starters, despite being the highest-scoring offense in the NFL over that stretch, the Texans were only 3-3. They lost at home to the Kansas City Chiefs, allowing 42 points. In New England, Houston should have pulled off a huge upset over the Patriots, only to watch O’Brien kick a late field goal instead of going for the win on 4th and 1. The result was a predictable Tom Brady comeback in the final minutes.

A month later, the Texans were playing in Seattle against the Seahawks and racked up over 500 total yards. Instead of winning, though, O’Brien played conservatively and gave the ball back to Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. To the shock of nobody, Seattle drove the length of the field for a thrilling victory.

Championship

With Houston at 4-7 and going downhill quickly, the Texans should seize the moment. Smith can fire O’Brien and have his pick of the proverbial litter. With Watson and a potentially dominant defense with the returns of Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt, any coach would love to take on the challenge in Houston.

Keeping O’Brien as head coach limits this team. Throughout an entire offseason, O’Brien thought Savage was the right starter for this team, only to yank him after 30 minutes. He also made two crucial mistakes at the end of games that seemed obvious to even the novice fan, costing the Texans a pair of important wins.

Whether or not O’Brien gets the axe remains to be seen, but with Watson and a bright future ahead, the Texans are going to have a harder time moving on if they feel O’Brien is holding the team back. Now is the moment to make a change and go forward for a championship push.