The Houston Texans have won their division for a second consecutive season. They will now be battling for a chance at the Lombardi trophy with 11 other teams.
Despite this, it appears that the marriage between head coach Bill O’Brien and the Texans could be coming to a shocking end.
According to the venerable Jay Glazer over at Fox Sports, O’Brien could be one of the surprises as it relates to the head coaching changes in 2017.
Surprise opening could be Texans, if they lose early in playoffs I can see O'Brien/team agreeing to part ways — good candidate on market
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) January 1, 2017
That has to be considered a major surprise. After all, rarely do coaches lose their jobs after leading their team to two consecutive division titles.
Though, O’Brien’s case is a bit more convoluted. Viewed as a quarterback whisperer dating back to his days with Penn State, he’s failed miserably in shaping that position for the Texans. High-priced free agents bust Brock Osweiler was just recently benched in favor of former mid-round pick Tom Savage, who isn’t exactly lighting it up right now (more on that here).
In reality, it is the quarterback position that’s holding the Texans back from being considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders. That’s likely where the preface of O’Brien’s seat being incredibly hot comes into play.