Plenty of questions to the head coach were answered by the organization's statement according to him

O'Brien leans on McNair's statement for Gaine answers

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Bill O'Brien faced the media for the first time since the organization fired general manager Brian Gaine. While O'Brien appreciated the questions, he leaned primarily on the statement by Cal McNair about the team.


The statement covered that

This is the statement Bill O'Brien referenced when he was asked a multitude of questions. He declined to explain what his conversation with McNair covered but that McNair made his vision and expectations for the organization clear.

He also declined to discuss the reported interviews the Texans have already had and his role in the future interviews of this team.

The list of questions O'Brien used the statement as an answer

Here is a list of the questions O'Brien was asked that he used the statement from Cal McNair as his answer.

There was a report your relationship with Brian Gaine eroded is that true?

Did you believe Brian Gaine needed to be fired to move this organization forward?

What changed in your relationship with Brian Gaine when you were working with him?

Were you worried about losing your job based on this evaluation?

The Texans won 11 games, won the division, and hosted a playoff game. Why do you think there is this much change after that?

Has he talked with Nick Caserio?

Bill O'Brien was asked if he had contact with Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio.

"I would say that the answer to that is no. Relative to contact about anything having to do with the Houston Texans, no."

O'Brien on Gaine

O'Brien's comments directly on Brian Gaine were short and sweet and to the point.

"Man of high character. Great family man and good football person."

Impact on Clowney

When asked if the firing of Gaine and the eventual hire of a new general manager would affect Jadeveon Clowney O'Brien said "no" and pointed to Clowney's franchise tag designation and confirmed Clowney was not present for the mandatory workout on Tuesday.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM

With the end of the regular season in sight, the Houston Astros host the Kansas City Royals on Friday night, coming off a huge walk-off 2-1 win against the Orioles.

Two players from the finale against Baltimore really stood out for the 'Stros. Jeremy Pena, who had a clutch double late in the game, and Cristian Javier.

Javier struck out 11 batters over 5 innings surrendering only one run, which was exactly what the Astros needed in possibly the most important game of the regular season.

Both Pena and Javier were critical pieces to the Astros title in 2022, and it looks like they're rounding into form at just the right time.

Javier's struggles have caused many to question who would be the team's third starter in the postseason, behind Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander. Let's put this to bed right now, it's Javier.

This should be everything you need to know. Let's start with Hunter Brown. Brown has given up 5 earned runs or more in 4 of his last 7 starts.

How about JP France? France has surrendered 5 or more earned runs in 3 of his last 5 games.

However, Cristian Javier hasn't allowed 5 or more runs in a start since July 3. Javier may only give you 5 innings, but that's actually pretty common for starters in the playoffs. Teams typically remove their starters before the third time through the order.

Prime Time Pena

While the power hasn't been there for Pena this year, he is swinging the bat much better of late. Over his last 30 games, he's hitting .325 while slugging .453. Pena may only have 10 bombs on the year, but he's getting on base and hitting plenty of doubles.

If these two can contribute at a similar level to last postseason, the sky is the limit for the 2023 Astros.

Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion!

If you enjoy the videos, subscribe to SportsMap Houston on YouTube for our latest content.

Listen to The Bench with John Granato and Lance Zierlein weekday mornings on ESPN 97.5 and 92.5 FM.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome