The head coach addressed the potential future of the headset
O'Brien not yet sure who is calling plays
Feb 27, 2019, 4:15 pm
Cody Stoots/SportsMap
The head coach of the Houston Texans isn't ready to declare which voice Deshaun Watson will hear the play calls from next season.
"I think it's so early right now to really talk about any of that," Bill O'Brien said Wednesday from the NFL Scouting Combine when asked who would be the person calling the plays on Sundays.
The only options are O'Brien remaining the man with the microphone or newly promoted offensive coordinator Tim Kelly.
O'Brien was bullish on Kelly's potential as the team's offensive coordinator.
"We have a system in place, he knows the system, he knows where the system needs to be improved, he knows how it can be tweaked, he knows the things that we have to keep doing that we did well last year."
Kelly finds himself in this position after being the team's tight ends coach. O'Brien said the team has a philosophy of preparing young coaches and giving them more as the team's faith in them grows.
Kelly, of course, fits that mold.
"He's run the third down meeting. He's run our Wednesday morning meeting where we introduce the opponents' defense. He's done a lot of things in front of the unit because I do think that you can't just take a guy and say 'OK, he coached tight ends and that's all he ever did' and then you just put him in front of a unit of professional football players. That's not what we've done here."
It very well could still be O'Brien with Kelly as the backup option, or vice versa. As for the current task in front of the team's new offensive coordinator O'Brien trusts Kelly.
"He's had a lot of input into what we do. He's had a big part of the process and he's ready for the challenge."
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Houston Texans receiver Stefon Diggs will miss the rest of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee Sunday.
Coach DeMeco Ryans made the announcement Tuesday, calling Diggs being out a huge loss.
“It hurts our team to hear that news,” Ryans said. “He’s been such an important part to our team and just everything that he brought, not only on the field, but off the field. The energy, the leader, the way he worked every single day. He brought a lot to our team and we have to pick up the slack — a lot of guys have to pick up the slack.”
Diggs suffered the non-contact injury in the third quarter of Houston’s win over the Colts on Sunday. He was running a route and pulled up and grabbed at his right knee before falling to the ground.
The 30-year-old Diggs had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games in his first season in Houston after a blockbuster trade from the Bills.
“It's not easy," quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “It's not something that I have a whole bunch of words for. I'm just ... trying to just wrap my mind around what happened but it's tough. You try to think positively about it but there's not a bunch of positive thoughts and I just really feel bad for him.”
Diggs is a four-time Pro Bowler who has had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past six seasons, highlighted by his 2020 season where he led the NFL with a career-high 1,535 yards.
The injury is another blow to a team that is already without leading receiver Nico Collins, who is out at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
With Diggs out, the Texans will need Tank Dell to take on a bigger role in the offense Thursday night when they visit the New York Jets. Dell’s production has dropped off this season after a standout rookie year where he had 709 yards receiving with seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg.
He has 229 yards receiving this season and scored his second touchdown in Sunday’s win which improved the AFC South-leading Texans to 6-2.
“Once you lose one of the star players, everybody has got to step up,” Dell said. “Even if you are one of the star players, you still have to step up and do more and produce more. I know all of us are more than capable of doing that. So we are going to try to go out there and make plays.”
The Texans also have receivers Robert Woods, Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie, but none of those players has contributed much this season. The three players have combined for just 146 yards receiving.
“Other leaders have got to step up,” Stroud said. “We need a leader in that room to step up now since (Diggs) and Nico are both out.”
Stroud added that he has full confidence in his remaining receivers and knows they'll take advantage of their opportunities.
“That means a lot,” Metchie said. “It shows that my teammates have a lot of faith and belief in me based off the work that they’ve seen me do. And for me, it just means that when I get out there, I’m just going to ride as hard for them as they do for me.”
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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.