Bill O’Brien, the man who took Tom Brady to new heights and later saved Penn State football, now gets a chance to grow another struggling team with a head coaching job for the Houston Texans.
This year the annual NFL coaching carousel lands on seven coaches getting new head coaching position. Some have coached before and are getting a second chance, others are getting their first chance as a head coach.
In this series we will look at the head coaches that are starting with brand new teams and what they are getting themselves into. The first group to be examined will be the first-year head coaches:
Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans) – O’Brien’s success in the NFL and college football as one of Bill Belichik’s disciples cannot be overlooked: During his tenure from 2007 to 2011, the Patriots scored over 500 points three times and appeared in two Superbowls. When he left to take the unwanted position of Head Coach for the scandal-struck Penn State football team, the school flourished. After two years with Penn State he was welcomed back to the team with open arms and a large contract to coach the last place Houston Texans.
Despite their record, the Texans actually have a roster loaded with talent: Arian Foster, JJ Watt, Brian Cushing and Johnathan Joseph to name a few. What the team really needed in 2013 was a QB to bring it all together.
However, after cutting long-time starter Matt Schaub, O’Brien’s Texans will start the season with journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick backed up by inexperienced QBs Tom Savage and Case Keenum. All three have very limited potential, but O’Brien may be one man in the NFL who can maximize it.
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