THE AFTERMATH
What is next for the Texans: O'Brien looks likely to return, GM Smith to take leave of absence
Dec 31, 2017, 5:29 pm
Bill O'Brien will likely return for the Texans. Houstontexans.com
The Houston Texans are bringing back head coach Bill O’Brien per reports that began surfacing yesterday. He and team owner Bob McNair are scheduled to meet soon and discuss his future. This is an interesting development considering his relationship with general manager Rick Smith was considered toxic. Oh, we’re not done yet! Now, Rick Smith has released a statement saying he’s taking an extended leave of absence effective immediately to care for his wife, who has been battling breast cancer.
This story sounds like a Lifetime movie set around football. All that’s missing is a love interest. Stories of disharmony between O’Brien and Smith have existed for quite some time now, so that’s not new. Stories were also out about which teams would be interested in O’Brien’s services should he not return, as well as lists showing the Texans’ coaching job as one of the most desirable if available.
While compiling three 9-7 seasons, followed by this year’s 4-12 disaster may make some owners hit the reset button, McNair is known to be extremely patient. McNair’s patience aside, the fact that O’Brien will be back next year is a wise move. O’Brien had a groove going with rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson. It seemed as if he couldn’t call a bad play. And if he did, Watson could salvage it. He even admitted that he and his offensive coaches learned from Watson some of the plays he ran at Clemson, and then incorporated them in the gameplan.
His ability to adapt to Watson’s skill set alone should be enough to bring him back, not to mention he has a year left on his deal. But who do you bring in if you get rid of him? Who’s going to come in and take this team to the next level that’s available? A recycled coach is a failure from another team. There’s only been a small handful that have made the transition from college to the NFL work successfully. Guys from the broadcast side have more than likely seen their best coaching days pass them by and enjoy making good money on a favorable schedule.
Giving O’Brien an extension could be a gamble McNair is willing to take, but doesn’t have to. A simple meeting and understanding, along with a handshake deal, that an extension will be based upon the team’s performance in first part of the season should suffice. A three to five year extension with a bump in salary and stating he has more input over player personnel would most likely get the job done.
All this sounds great, but the curveball of the Rick Smith news adds to the drama. By no means would a decent human being wish cancer upon another. But this has to be one of those situations in which a terrible thing could pave the way for something beautiful. As Smith takes his leave of absence heading into a challenging offseason for the team, someone needs to be brought in to help steer the ship from a general manager’s point of view. Let’s say this person was an O’Brien recommendation. If said person were to make chicken salad out of chicken spit in improving this roster, that would go a long way into easing Rick Smith out of the general manager position. This would also grease the skids for an O’Brien extension. Smith could return to the team in a different capacity, or decide that his family is more important and step aside completely.
This potential move is something McNair would most likely have never done on his own. He seems to be very non-confrontational, and tends to wait until the water is in the house to acknowledge the flood. Taking advantage of Smith’s leave gives him the cover he needs to make a move he may not have had the stomach to do, and that’s choosing O’Brien over Smith.
Let’s be honest. Smith hasn’t set the world on fire with draft picks, particularly in middle rounds. O’Brien has alluded to not being able to have control over personnel. It’s like he’s been on the coaching version of Chopped the past four seasons. But great chefs know how to make a great meal out of anything they’re given. For the sake of Texans fans, I hope McNair finds a way to navigate this tricky situation and improve his team for the better. If not, he runs the risk of wasting more talent and chances at winning for the long run.
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How Astros advanced metrics tell puzzling story about Houston's start
Apr 17, 2025, 5:21 pm
Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.
The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. He has often looked befuddled in the batter's box. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.
All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.
As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.
Familiar faces return
This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.
Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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