Plus the head coach and general manager weighed in on Deshaun Watson and Laremy Tunsil's futures

O'Brien's commitment to familiarity could be defining moment of his power

Cody Stoots
Feb 26, 2020, 2:40 am
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

What we learned from Bill O'Brien's first public discussion since he was officially named the coach and general manager.

Tim Kelly is the new play caller for the Texans offense

Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly has been with Bill O'Brien since he took over as the head coach at Penn State. Kelly followed to the NFL when O'Brien took over the Texans and before last season Kelly was named the team's offensive coordinator.

Now, for just the second time as head coach, O'Brien is handing over the play calling duties. The last time O'Brien did this was when George Godsey was promoted to offensive coordinator and the offense regressed with Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett. Godsey would lose those duties and ultimately his job after the 2016 season.

This is one of the few changes to an offense that took a step back from 2018 last season. The defense was overhauled, as it should have been (more on them next), but little to no change occurred on the offense until Kelly took the headset. It would have been difficult to expect more from the offense in 2020 if nothing had changed but I believe this could be a significant change for the good.

Kelly has clearly been groomed for this position. He's stuck around as O'Brien hoarded the headset for himself when previous members of the offensive staff, like former Texans coach Sean Ryan, couldn't wait for the time O'Brien would relinquish duties. He's coached all over the offense. He's helped in implementing the offense. When he was, to me at least, clearly calling plays in the second preseason game of 2019 the Texans opened the game with a touchdown. Same in the fourth preseason game. The Texans didn't replicate that feat until week 17.

This also adds pressure to O'Brien's resume of clearly his decisions. If this backfires consider it one of the biggest failures in O'Brien's tenure. He heavily relies on people he knows and has worked with. He rarely goes outside with someone he hasn't coached with before. If Kelly isn't good, and O'Brien has to divide his attention again, consider that a strike against O'Brien.

Inside shot caller on defense too with Anthony Weaver 

With the extreme failure of the Texans defense last season, regardless of their level of talent, it was certainly time for Romeo Crennel to move on. The curious decision was, again, an internal promotion. This time defensive line coach Anthony Weaver was handed the keys to the defense.

O'Brien had high praise for Weaver and the various defensive coordinators he had worked under as a coach and player. He claimed Weaver would have his own style and he's been picking Weaver's brain about what he would do as the head man on defense for a while.

The last time O'Brien experimented with an in-house promotion for the defense was when Mike Vrabel took over in 2017 and the defense finished rated 32nd in points allowed. Despite the defensive failures, Vrabel was rewarded with a head coaching opportunity. Romeo Crennel took back over and the defense got back on track for a year before it went sideways again in 2019.

It would have made a lot of sense to go outside the organization here, but O'Brien again relied on someone he has been priming for this position it would seem. It also, like the offensive decision above, is a line on his resume. It would also be a strike on his resume if it doesn't work out.

Think of a scenario where the defense stays bad and the offense regresses again. That would be a horrible look for O'Brien the decision maker and bad for the results in 2020. But, I do like the youth movement from O'Brien. Weaver will turn 40 this year, and Kelly is in his mid-30's. The last time O'Brien tried both of these moves, it didn't work. If these two hit, O'Brien will look like a genius.

The new contract expert

This is notable as Chris Olsen has rarely made a mistake as the contract and cap expert for the Texans in his time there. His assistant will have his job now, but I can't buy O'Brien not knowing why the change was made.

If indeed this is Jack Easterby's area, he is the team's Executive Vice President of Football Operations, O'Brien brought him into the organization and it wouldn't make sense he is on equal footing as O'Brien. Whatever the reason for Olsen leaving, Krajcovic will have a tough act to follow. Speaking of contract work...

Deshaun Watson and Laremy Tunsil could break the bank

Dehsaun Watson has technically two years left on his deal, with the fourth year of the contract and the fifth-year rookie option. Laremy Tunsil is currently slated for a big raise as his fifth-year rookie option has kicked in.

For Tunsil, his price has to be extremely high. Taylor Lewan and Lane Johnson have two of the largest and best deals at the tackle position. Tunsil has significant advantages over both of those in the negotiation process. He is better than Lewan, younger, and plays left tackle unlike Johnson who plays right tackle. The Texans also moved a huge amount of draft assets to get the left tackle. Most elite player don't play on the fifth-year option. Tunsil shouldn't and likely won't.

Deshaun Watson's contract could be heavily contingent on what Patrick Mahomes gets in his new deal. The Eagles and the Rams really upset the way of doing business when they paid Carson Wentz and Jared Goff a year before first round quarterbacks traditionally get paid. Both Watson and Mahomes should be seeking new deals, and it could be a standoff between the two to see who signs first. They each have been far better than Goff and Wentz and should be paid better than both.

O'Brien thumbs up on XFL

O'Brien mentioned the kickoff rule as one he liked. The NFL has to adopt that rule. It is the best way to do kickoffs.

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THE LEFT TURN

NASCAR: The Playoffs wind down at Martinsville

Martin Treux Jr. is a threat to win each week. Photo via: Wiki Commons

The NASCAR Cup series heads for the paperclip this week for the Xfinity 500. This will be one of if not the most important race of 2020. This will be the final race before we decide who races for a championship in two weeks at Phoenix and what better place to decide that than here at one of NASCAR's most legendary tracks. There is a good chance we see a driver put the bumper to someone for the win as everything will be on the line for the eight drivers who are trying to punch their ticket. You definitely won't want to miss this race as there are sure to be hurt fenders and hurt feelings.

Last week NASCAR had maybe the longest rain delay in the history of the sport as mist halted the field for nearly four days. On Wednesday the race was finally restarted around the evening as they were finally able to complete the remainder of the race. When they finally got started, Kyle Busch was able to drive away from the field and claim his 57th career victory. While in the grand scheme of things this victory won't have too much of an effect on the championship, for Kyle to finally break that winless streak and make it to victory lane for the first time in 2020 had to have been special for him.

Another bright spot for this race was the emergence of rookie phenom Christopher Bell. In the closing stages, he seemed like he had the fastest car on the racetrack and was suddenly reeling in Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch for first and second but just couldn't seem to find the momentum to pass them. This race was special for Bob Leavine and his race team as this would be their final race at their home track. To commemorate this, they drove a throwback paint scheme to 2011 when the team started. I don't know if Bell and this team will get a win this year but I can see them rattling off some good runs before Leavine Family Racing closes its doors at the end of the year.

The final domino to fall in this year's insane Silly Season has finally come down as it was announced that Kyle Larson will drive the #5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports next season. Now everyone knows what happened with Larson earlier this year when he used a racial slur that cost him a job at Chip Ganassi Racing. This was one of the most embarrassing moments for the sport in recent memory and there isn't any doubt that Kyle deserved to be suspended. But I have to say I have been impressed with his community outreach efforts. Overall, I think that he is truly sorry for what he did and has learned from his mistake and that is something I can respect. I hope that he can continue down his road of improvement but now he will have to remember that he will be under constant media scrutiny and will have to be very conscious of what he says. But I think he will understand that and do just fine. Regardless, I wish him nothing but success going forward as he is one of the most talented race car drivers around.

So it has come down to this, eight drivers will have one more chance to qualify for the championship race. The four drivers that are currently in are Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski. Without a doubt, these four drivers are probably the most deserving as there have been 23 victories combined between all four of them. While these are the four most likely drivers to get in, there is always a good chance that one of the drivers on the outside looking in can win and take a spot from one of those four. Those four drivers are Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr, and Kurt Busch. While Bowman and Elliott can still mathematically get in on points, for the other two, it is win or be eliminated. While Busch has shown speed here I am not sure if he can run with some of the faster cars in the field. But if there is one thing we know, him and his crew-chief can get in on strategy as they did at Vegas. Martin Treux Jr is another threat to win each week, but he will be without his crew-chief James Small after it was discovered last week that he had an illegal spoiler as his crew-chief was ejected, and he was docked 20 points. If there is one thing the 2017 champion has on his side though is that he did win here earlier in the year. This battle will be fun to watch for sure.

The driver that I have winning this week was one I mentioned earlier and that's Chase Elliott. Over the course of his seven starts here, he has three top fives and five top tens. He has been so fast here ever since his rookie year in 2016 and even made his first start here one year earlier in 2015. This track is similar to what he cut his teeth on in the late models around the southeast and that has reflected in his performance. While he hasn't won here yet, he has been very close including back in 2017 when he was leading the race before being taken out by Denny Hamlin. I look for him to break through this weekend and clinch a spot in the championship race at Phoenix.

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