Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Yesterday 3 PM Central Standard Time came and went. It took any chance of the Texans signing Jadeveon Clowney to a long term extension with it. Well, for this year at least. This was the latest in a string of acts that appear to be attributed to Texans head coach Bill O'Brien. Ever since he was hired, O'Brien has attempted to replicate what his former mentor New England Patriots Bill Belichick has done in New England. As most that have followed the Texans would acknowledge, his hire and actions are consistent with this franchise's obsession with the Patriots. I guess the McNair's thought they were hiring the next Belichick and ended up hiring another withered branch from Belichick'scoaching tree. Over the years, O'Brien has shown numerous times in which his ego has cost this team. Here's a look at a few times in which I believe O'Brien's ego has cost the Texans:
The Clowney contract
Jadeveon Clowney
Houston Texans/FacebookThis is the most recent blip on the O'Brien ego radar. Clowney played very well last year under his fifth year option. He hasn't had injury concerns over the past three years playing in 45 games over that period. He's also put up comparable numbers to some of the top defenders he's asking to be paid like. However, I've contended that if they know they won't pay him, they should trade him. This has lead to the current situation they're in with Clowney, as well as...
The GM saga
Former GM Brian Gaine
Buffalobills.comThe Texans unexpectedly parted ways with general manager Brian Gaine this offseason. Reasons why they made the move are as mysterious as the move itself. We can only speculate as to why the team made such a drastic move at a point in the offseason in which they made it. It's widely believed they thought they could get another candidate hired away from the Patriots (Nick Caserio). Another theory/rumor is that O'Brien wanted Gaine to make the trade for Clowney instead of resigning him and that led to his exit. Either way, it's widely believed O'Brien pulled some of the strings here. Now the team is operating with a GM by committee until they hire someone next offseason.
Clock management
Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty ImagesThis so-called offensive/quarterback/guru can't even manage the clock or call plays properly. How can you call yourself an offensive coach when you fail to find a starting quarterback or call the right plays at the right times, much less manage the clock correctly? Knowing when to call a timeout, what plays to dial up, and what sequence of plays to have dialed up in a no-huddle situation factors into being prepared for these situations. O'Brien has consistently demonstrated that he isn't prepared and has shown a propensity at failing in these situations so far.
Arrogance
Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesO'Brien has exhibited a real smug and arrogant attitude when it comes to the media. He acts as if he's doing them a favor to answer questions, or answers questions in a manner in which media members should feel honored he even answered. Last time I checked, a coach with a 42-38 record in the NFL shouldn't act like an arrogant A hole towards anyone. I don't know if O'Brien acts this way behind the scenes, but the smug encounters he's had with media members I've seen and his rumored actions have led me to believe he's the same guy he's been reported to be. A couple Super Bowl titles and better personnel decisions would lead to some leeway when he wants to be a jerk.
Belichick can do and act the way he does because he's won titles. He also has had the privilege of coaching one of the best quarterbacks of all time. O'Brien has done nothing to warrant the same treatment. Deshaun Watson isn't close to being one of the best ever, but he has potential. O'Brien needs to focus on building this team into a consistent contender. Clowney can be apart of that if O'Brien sets his ego aside and resigns him next offseason. He better at least franchise and trade him to get something more for him than a third round compensatory pick. Otherwise, this will be another notch in his ego.
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There's no denying that this year's World Series champs (LA Dodgers) have some serious firepower on their roster. And one of the ways they were able to assemble such a talented team involved players like Shohei Ohtani being willing to differ their money.
Just this week, there was some speculation that the Yankees could do something similar when restructuring Gerrit Cole's contract, that would allow them more flexibility in the present.
The Yankees ended up calling Cole's bluff about opting out, and no adjustment was made to the contract.
But this situation got us thinking, would the Astros consider a tactic like this to maximize the roster? At this point, it doesn't seem all that likely. Just last year, the team handed out a $95 million contract to Josh Hader, without any differed money.
The other factor that also has to come into play is the tax threshold. The organization would have to give the okay to go over it again in order to make a splash signing this offseason. Which unfortunately does not sound like the plan right now when listening to GM Dana Brown at the Winter Meetings.
Astros pitcher hires a new agent
Now that MLB free agency is in full swing, most of the attention moving forward will be focused on players like Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, and Juan Soto.
But for Astros fans, there might be someone else to keep an eye on this offseason and next. Starting pitcher Hunter Brown quietly hired super agent Scott Boras recently.
With Brown still another season away from his first year of arbitration, he should be with the Astros for the foreseeable future.
However, the hiring of Boras does raise some interesting questions. Why make the move now? Certainly, Brown could use some more cash, as he's set to make less than a million in 2025.
Perhaps Brown wants to land some HEB commercials to fatten his wallet. And if Bregman does leave the team in free agency, a spot will open up for another player, in theory. And three of the players in the HEB ads are represented by Boras (Jose Altuve, Lance McCullers Jr. and Bregman).
Jeremy Pena has been stacking cash from Taquerias Arandas for several years now, maybe Brown would like an opportunity to do an endorsement similar to that.
I say all this half kidding, but Brown does look like the future ace of this staff, and I'm sure there are plenty of advertisers that would have interest in Hunter.
There is another element that could have initiated the hiring of Boras. Would Brown be willing to sign an extension early with the Astros similar to the deal the team made with Cristian Javier?
Their situations are actually pretty comparable, except Javier was one year further into his career (3 years of MLB service time) and eligible for arbitration before agreeing to the extension.
If Brown was heading into arbitration this offseason, it wouldn't be surprising at all for the Astros to be considering a long-term deal with him that buys up all his arbitration years. The 'Stros love these types of contract extensions. We've seen them do it with Bregman, the aforementioned Javier, and others.
One of the main differences though between Brown and Javier is their rookie year numbers. Brown only pitched 20.1 innings in his first season (2022). While Javier pitched 54.1 innings his rookie year. However, his rookie season was in 2020, so Javier completed a full year of service time despite the shortened season. Whereas Brown didn't get called up until September 2022.
Another difference is performance. Javier never posted an ERA over 3.55 in his first three seasons. As opposed to Brown, who had a disastrous year in 2023. He made 29 starts, recording an ERA over 5.
It wasn't until May of 2024 that Brown started using his two-seam fastball with great success and becoming one of the most dominant pitchers in the American League.
The Astros had a bigger sample size to judge Javier. However, if Brown has another quality season in 2025, Houston and Brown should definitely be having conversations about an extension. Especially with Framber Valdez being in the final year of his contract in 2025. Hunter could be the unquestioned ace one year from now.
Still, though, there are some concerns with handing out these early extensions. For example, if the Astros had it to do over again, would they still extend Javier?
After receiving his extension before the 2023 season, he went on to post the highest ERA of his career (4.56), and then blew out his elbow in May 2024.
And if we're going by Luis Garcia's recovery timeline from Tommy John surgery, we may not see Javier pitch at all in 2025.
So even with a sample size of three terrific seasons, the Javier extension looks like a miss with the benefit of hindsight. It will be interesting to see if that deal impacts Dana Brown's decision-making going forward.
Especially since Javier was Dana's first big contract extension as the Astros GM.
Be sure to watch the video as we discuss how the Astros can get the most out of their roster, the pros and cons of signing Hunter Brown early, and much more!
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon. Find all via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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