Houston Texans star J.J. Watt delved into a number of topics during a conference call Wednesday. He spoke without reservation about his current contract situation, among many other things. But when it came time to praise his head coach, Bill O’Brien, Watt blanked.
Check out this awkward video of Watt being hit with a question he likely wasn’t expecting. Rivers McCown of The Athletic shared this clip Wednesday, noting how Watt struggled to come up with an answer to how O’Brien is a good head coach.
Yikes.
Watt is always a classy guy. So it’s not surprising he was able to cobble together something of an answer. Even if it’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of his coach.
Then again, he has expressed frustration with at least one of the moves O’Brien has made lately.
J.J. Watt seemed unhappy with the DeAndre Hopkins trade
Recently, after O’Brien sent DeAndre Hopkins packing to Arizona in a really bad value trade for Houston, Watt talked about that move. He expressed that it was “tough to lose a guy like that, no matter what the situation is.”
During the same interview, Watt said the decision to trade Hopkins was “above my pay grade.”
Bill O’Brien has endured heavy criticism
Watt was diplomatic talking about the Hopkins trade. Other Texans players have not been so guarded with their opinions. This includes star quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was very unhappy.
Additionally, Texans fans have been extremely upset with the moves O’Brien has made since taking over as general manager. Indeed, it seems every major move he’s made has been met with incredible criticism.
So, with all that in mind, it was not all that surprising to see a Texans player get stymied when asked to say something nice about O’Brien.