Houston Texans fire head coach, GM Bill O’Brien after 0-4 start
Oct 5, 2020, 2:30 PM | Updated: 3:58 pm
Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien watches from the sideline in the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
The man on the other side of the DeAndre Hopkins trade is out of a job.
The Houston Texans have fired head coach and GM Bill O’Brien following an 0-4 start to the 2020 season.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano were first to report the firing.
O’Brien represents the first NFL head coach to be let go in 2020. O’Brien marks the first head coach since former Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin in 2015 to be fired within the first four games of a season.
Romeo Crennel, the team’s assistant head coach, will take over as interim head coach.
O’Brien’s firing comes the same day he promoted himself back to play caller.
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Taking over head-coaching duties in 2014, O’Brien posted a 52-49 record in seven seasons with the Texans. Houston made the playoffs in all but two seasons leading into 2020. Adding to Houston’s woes is the fact that the team boasts the NFL’s highest payroll this season at $248 million. The Texans also owe their 2021 first- and second-round picks to the Miami Dolphins.
O’Brien will be remembered most to Cardinals fans for trading Hopkins to Arizona in exchange for former starting running back David Johnson this offseason.
The Cardinals have surely won that trade four games in as the All-Pro wide receiver leads all pass catchers in receptions with 39 and sits fourth in receiving yards (397). Hopkins has found pay dirt once.
Johnson, on the other hand, has carried the football 51 times for 197 yards and two touchdowns. His 3.9 yards per carry is 37th among running backs in the NFL and he’s averaging just 49.3 yards per game.
