The Hypocrisy of Bill O'Brien
Team, in Houston is spelled B-I-L-L
Apr 8, 2020, 12:15 pm
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Due to the 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee being suspended, Brown alum Bill O'Brien decided to do us all a favor and spell team for us last week. The hypocrisy in the Texans' general manager and head coach taking on this task is quite overbearing.
As O'Brien attempted to explain how his moves as the general manager were making the team better, I could only smirk, thinking back to the summer of "alignment." It wasn't that long ago that Bill O'Brien had to get Rick Smith out because Smith obviously didn't understand what it meant to be a part of O'Brien's T-E-A-M. When Brian Gaine was brought back to replace Smith, the duo spoke about "alignment" ad nauseam. They looked to build the team the same way, they looked for the same attributes in players...yada, yada, yada.
Fast foward only a year and a half later and somehow Gaine had already forgotten how to spell T-E-A-M. Now enter the man that must have an unmatched vocabulary as his rise to power in Houston is unlike any that I have ever seen in professional football. A former team chaplain and character coach, Jack Easterby, had taken a trip to New England. Alledgely, Easterby and O'Brien felt that Nick Caserio knew how to spell T-E-A-M better than Gaine. While O'Brien and Easterby could spell with the best of them, apparently reading wasn't a top priority for the trio. O'Brien and Easterby haphazardly met with the Texans' owner and convinced him to move on from Gaine and pursue Caserio. This didn't go as plan (or did it) as Caserio had a no-interview clause in his contract. New England threatened the Texans with tampering charges and Houston cowered to their big brothers, once again, embarassing the franchise as a second-tier organization among their piers.
No worries, they still had Gaine, right? Unforunately, the team had decided to fire Gaine the week prior, as they supposedly believed that Caserio was a homerun hire. Needless to say, that was the beginning of a reign that would lead to a new T-E-A-M model being one canvassed in battle red embarassment.
O'Brien and Easterby since the "mistake" went on to become the most powerful man in the organization and his right hand, yes man. Yes, the chaplain, the character coach, was now at the right hand of the czar. Was it a huge coincidence that O'Brien and Easterby's elaborate plan blew up in a way that would benefit the both of them? Or is it more likely that the Ivy league educated O'Brien had orchestrated a scheme that would finally put him in a position to have the power that he had always craved?
O'Brien's flub made him the only officially titled general manager and head coach in the NFL. How could a coach with a resume more similar to Marvin Lewis than Bill Belichick hold both titles at a time in which giving coaches all encompassing power had died off? Yes, O'Brien has won a lot of AFC South titles. Congrats are in order for winning one of eight divisions and being better than at least three teams each year, that happen to be geographically close to the city in which his club plays. Never mind the fact that since O'Brien took over as head coach of the Houston Texans, his team is the only AFC South squad that has fail to advance to an AFC Championship game. Never mind the fact that he holds a 2-4 playoff record with wins over quarterbacks Connor Cook and Josh Allen or the fact that he became the only coach to blow a 20+ point lead in the playoffs and lose that game by 20+.
O'Brien would like his season ticket holders to believe that he's building a true team. However, the blueprint that O'Brien has shown is one that looks more of a dictator. His plan is to seize all power and only surround himself with those who have undying loyalty to him as supreme leader, not the team. In Houston, you spell team, B-I-L-L, if you don't worship at the alter of O'Brien then you will quickly be banished, despite your talent, following, prestige, etc.
O'Brien's Reign:
- Get Rick Smith out of the way
- Get Brian Gaine out of the way
- Become GM
- Trade Clowney for small return
- Trade Hopkins for small return
- Trade for Tunsil without extension
- Elevate yes men to all positions of authority
It's agree wholeheartedly with O'Brien or fall by the wayside. That's what a team is in O'Brien's eyes.
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Houston coach DeMeco Ryans is balancing the need to keep his Texans healthy for their AFC wild-card playoff game against the desire to knock off rust after a long break leading into Sunday's regular-season finale.
A little good mojo certainly would help going into the postseason. The Texans also have lost two straight since clinching a second straight AFC South title.
Houston (9-7) is in the midst of an 11-day break since being embarrassed 31-2 by Baltimore on Christmas Day. Beating the Tennessee Titans on Sunday would help the Texans work on some issues before they host a wild-card game as the No. 4 seed. Ryans says he’s planning to play his starters, though he wouldn't say for how long.
“We’ll see how the game goes,” Ryans said.
The Titans (3-13) are on the opposite end of the spectrum. Playoff hopes officially ended Dec. 8 with a loss to Jacksonville, and Tennessee has lost five straight. The Titans currently are set to receive the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft next April. A loss combined with a win by New England over Buffalo would put Tennessee at No. 1 overall for the first time since 2016.
First-year coach Brian Callahan is busy trying to help his team improve and hasn't thought about the idea of a lottery keeping NFL teams from tanking for better draft spots. He called it an interesting question that would be better addressed in the offseason. Two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said his job is trying to win games.
“I’m not going out there with a lose mentality for the draft,” Simmons said. “That’s out of my control and what we do and who we go get in the draft.”
Musical quarterbacks
The Titans benched second-year quarterback Will Levis after his four turnovers led to 24 points in a loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 15. Veteran Mason Rudolph started the last two games, yet he couldn't help Tennessee snap a skid that is now seven of eight, including a 20-13 loss last week in Jacksonville.
The lone win? Levis started a 33-27 victory on Nov. 24 at Houston, which gives the Titans at least the chance to sweep the Texans. Combined with how Levis has handled himself since being pulled, he earned another chance to play in what might be his 12th start and last chance to stop turning the ball over before Tennessee decides this offseason what to do at quarterback. Callahan plans to announce his starter late this week.
Levis is just happy for another chance and for his last pass at Nissan Stadium not to be a pick-6.
“All I'm trying to do is play quarterback the best that I can, and it's a good opportunity to try to end the season on a good note," Levis said.
New face
Receiver Diontae Johnson is expected to make his debut for Houston Sunday after being picked up last week following his release by the Ravens. The Texans needed depth at the position after Tank Dell followed Stefon Diggs to the injured list with his season-ending knee injury on Dec. 21.
Johnson played four games for Baltimore after a trade from Carolina before being suspended for refusing to enter a game and then being released on Dec. 20. He has 4,726 yards receiving in a six-year career that started in Pittsburgh. Ryans isn’t worried about his history.
“As I mentioned to him, of course it’s a clean slate starting with me,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter what has happened in the past or what the narrative is about you. You come here and everything is a fresh start and so we’ll see how he can help us, what he can add to our team on the field and off the field.”
Oilers throwbacks
The Titans have planned all season to wear their Oilers throwback uniforms Sunday against the team that replaced them in Houston. The throwbacks feature the light blue and red that the Texans have incorporated into their color scheme with Houston fans unhappy that the late Bud Adams took everything connected to the Oilers and their history with him to Tennessee in 1997.
Simmons can’t wait to play in the throwbacks and wants to represent the former players who wore those uniforms for the franchise. He also knows the Texans would love nothing more than to hand the Titans a loss while wearing those uniforms.
“It’s been a bumpy season and being able to close this year out in them uniforms I think, you know, it’ll be a better way to go out,” Simmons said.