Every-Thing Sports

Who/What Does Bill O'Brien Remind Me Of?

Texans Bill O'Brien
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

Back at the beginning of December, I wrote my column on Bill O'Brien. "Time for Bill O'Brien to bleep or get off the pot" was written after they beat the Patriots on Sunday Night Football. In the opening paragraph, I called him the Grand Poobah of all things Texans. After the "reassigning" of defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and firing of Senior Vice President of Football Administration Chris Olsen, O'Brien's power has gotten to a point in which it seems only a disaster of epic proportions could possibly remove him from power.

The Texans became the first team in NFL history to lose a playoff game by 20-plus after being ahead by 20-plus. Not even that abysmal failure was enough for the McNairs to relieve him of his duties. Him only having to answer to Cal McNair and Cal not saying anything about O'Brien's piss poor performance tells me just how powerful O'Brien is. He reminds me of several historical figures who amassed great power and/or wealth, despite being a bad person:

John Gotti

Getty Images

Dubbed the "Teflon Don" for any charges brought against him to stick, Gotti took over as the boss of the Gambino family, one of the top Italian mob families in the country. He did so by murdering his predecessor and his next in line effectively seizing power by eliminating those ahead of him in the chain of command. O'Brien has done the same thing by getting rid of any and everyone in his way. Gotti was eventually caught, convicted, and died of cancer in prison. I know Texans fans are hoping for a similar fate for O'Brien.

Frank Lucas

Public Domain

Frank Lucas came to mind when thinking of those who rose to power by nefarious means. He was a small time criminal until Bumpy Johnson took him under his wing. Known as the Godfather of Harlem, Johnson was plugged into the Italian mob and served as their Harlem representative for heroin sales and distribution. When Johnson died of a heart attack, Lucas took over. Eventually, Lucas found a way to cut the Italian mob out when he discovered a direct line to heroin from Asia. Lucas was eventually caught and convicted, then snitched on over 100 others. Bill Belichick was O'Brien's Johnson. However, he's yet to find his own path.

Al Capone

fbi.gov

Al "Scarface" Capone was the co-founder of the Chicago arm of the Italian mob. He was one of the first famous gangsters back in the 1920s and 1930s. He ordered the infamous "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" in which he ordered the murders of seven members of a rival gang on Chicago's Northside in an attempt to eliminate the competition. This earned him "Public Enemy #1" moniker in the newspapers. He was ultimately jailed on income evasion charges of all things. He died at age 48 from complications of syphilis. When one thinks of how much blood-letting O'Brien has done, one could only hope something small and simple brings him down as well. He's become "famous" for being a buffoon of a coach and de facto GM, yet having complete power and authority.

Omar from HBO's "The Wire"

HBO.com

Omar Little was a fictional character from a tv show that most regard as one of the best shows ever. He was the guy who robbed the drug dealers as well as extorted them. The fact that Omar was gay only played a part in his character's story when one of his lovers was brutally murdered to get back at him. When Omar hit the block, even the most hardcore gangsters ran. He ended up testifying against an enemy (snitched) and sent him to jail, but wasn't killed because of it. What actually killed him was a kid, Kenard, who shot him in the head at a corner store. Too bad the Chiefs loss or the Jadeveon Clowney debacle didn't "Kenard" O'Brien.

These men have ultimately met their demise one way or another. What's curious is how so often their ends are met by unseen means. None of them died in a drawn out gun battle and only Gotti died in prison. While Omar is fictional, his death at the hands of a child was not something anyone saw coming. Lucas was a snitch who lived long enough to see movies made about him and died at age 88. Capone was the peculiar one who died from an STD after being jailed for not paying taxes. Different endings for different men, but all of them were eventually taken out. O'Brien will be taken out as well. The question remains: what will take him out? Will it be him retiring and walking away similarly to Lucas, or will he be taken out by a Kenard (Ex: trading premium draft capital for Laremy Tunsil, but not resigning him)?

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
Hard to argue with the results. Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images.

As we barrel toward Opening Day which is now less than four weeks away, so far it’s been largely a case of no news is good news at Astros’ spring training. Meaning no major injuries to key players, no controversies brewing. There are numerous question marks that can’t truly be answered until we get into the games that count, such as how will Jose Altuve fare as a left fielder. The most exciting thing to happen over the first week of Grapefruit League games would probably be the two-home run game from top prospect Cam Smith, he of the Kyle Tucker trade. Both came off minor league caliber pitchers, but so what. Smith turned 22 years old last Saturday, the ideal is that he forces his way to the big leagues by the end of this season.

A strong majority of players who go on to greatness in Major League Baseball get to the big leagues before they turn 23. I spoke to this with Astros-specific perspective this week during an episode of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. The ten greatest offensive players in franchise history as measured by Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric are: Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Jose Altuve, Lance Berkman, Cesar Cedeno, Jimmy Wynn, Jose Cruz, Alex Bregman, Joe Morgan, and Bob Watson. Eight of those ten debuted in the majors at 22 years old or younger. Cedeno was 19! Morgan and Watson were 20. Wynn and Altuve were 21. Biggio, Bagwell, and Bregman were 22. That leaves Cruz and Berkman as the exceptions. “Cheo” debuted with the Cardinals and didn’t get to the Astros’ organization until he was 27. Berkman arrived at 23. He should have been up sooner but was backlogged in 1998 behind a fabulous outfield of Moises Alou, Carl Everett, and Derek Bell, with youngster Richard Hidalgo as the top reserve, while first base was manned by Bagwell in the heart of his prime.

The point is, special talents should be fast-tracked and/or fast-track themselves to the Major Leagues. There are numerous exceptions (team mistakes, late bloomers), but a very high percentage of eventual big stars get to The Show at a young age. Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, and Mike Trout entered at 19. Ronald Acuna Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Freddie Freeman, and Jose Ramirez did so at 20. Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Mookie Betts, and Yordan Alvarez were 21. Not all tear it up immediately the way Yordan did upon his promotion in 2019, but rare tools and talents merit accelerated opportunity. The focus here is on hitters, but this isn’t a bad spot to note that among the four greatest pitchers ever to hurl for the Astros, only Randy Johnson was older than 22 when he started (25 as a notoriously raw and wild Montreal Expo). Nolan Ryan was a 19-year-old New York Met, Roger Clemens a 21-year-old Boston Red Sox, and Justin Verlander a 22-year-old Detroit Tiger.

This is not predicting mega-stardom or a plaque in Cooperstown for Cam Smith, but if the Astros have such a player in what is presently a lousy farm system overall, the odds overwhelmingly favor Smith being that guy. He should be ticketed for double-A Corpus Christi to start this season after having had just 96 at bats in single-A and 19 at AA in the Cubs’ system after being drafted last July. Should Smith excel with the Hooks, it’s not preposterous to see him getting to the Astros over the summer, especially given the shaky state of the big club’s outfield going into the 2025 campaign. Plenty of players have skipped over AAA. While Smith was drafted as a third baseman, unless the Astros grow offensively desperate enough to move Isaac Paredes to second base, Smith’s fastest path to Daikin Park right now might lead to right field. Coming off a relentlessly bad 2024, it’s make-or-break time for Chas McCormick. Chas is making three-point-four million dollars this season and turns 30 in April. If he is not a heckuva lot better this year, there is no way the Astros are bringing him back at an even bigger salary number in 2026.

Jacob Melton is another outfield prospect, but he’s already 24 years old and has yet to show any sort of elite hitting traits in the minors. Melton looms as a cheaper replacement for Jake Meyers in center.

Those who will ultimately be great only have time siphoned from their careers when not brought up as soon as reasonable. Of course there is risk of unfulfilled potential or straight up bust status. If early failure crushes a player, he wasn’t headed for greatness anyway.

On the upswing

Closing aside: a pinging endorsement for the Astros’ Annual College Classic Friday through Sunday. The reigning national champion Tennessee Volunteers and runner-up Texas A&M Aggies head the field. Rice, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, and Arizona fill out what is always an excellent six-team event. With gorgeous weather forecast through the weekend the roof should be open throughout. RIGHT?

The countdown to Opening Day is on. 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!


*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!

https://houston.sportsmap.com/advertise

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome