Why was O'Brien fired by the Texans?

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Why was O'Brien fired by the Texans?

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Houston resident here, so I'll take a stab at this. *cracks knuckles*

The BoB era for the Houston Texans is referred to around here as "New England Patriots Cover Band," which in some ways is still continuing albeit differently. BoB came in promisingly enough, having turned around Penn State, and was pretty well-supported at first. He was a decent coach, offense-minded, building a team that consistently was in the mix to win their division and make the playoffs. But...

The success is what bred the cancer. As a result of success, he demanded more power - more input on the roster, salary-cap issues, draft picks, etc. He managed to oust the GM who helped build the roster (Rick Smith) through a power struggle, making himself and a mysterious figure named Jack Easterby the de facto GM after Smith resigned. Also during this time, Bob McNair (owner) passed away, leaving his not-as-much-of-a-leader son Cal McNair in a CEO role with the team. Power vacuum, power struggle...yeah.

All of this dysfunction earned him the official role of the GM/ HC. (a la Bill Belichick) Coming off a mediocre season hampered by trades for Laremy Tunsil and a few others that lost a lot of draft capital when he was de facto, he then traded away the (at that time) #1 or #2 wide receiver in the NFL (Deandre Hopkins) for a past-his-prime RB and a couple of mid-tier draft picks. Hopkins was incredibly popular in Houston, so the fan base and the locker room had a collective fit. (History will likely show this to have been the worst trade ever made in the NFL) It didn't help that, over the course of this process, he got more and more combative with the media as they asked him hard questions. He is no Belichick, with the monotonous tone and piercing look that makes people feel silly. Defensiveness is an unattractive character trait for a toddler, much less for a grown man running an NFL franchise.

Having lost the fanbase, the media, and the locker room, 2020 was win-or-go-home. After starting 0-4, not-so-great-a-leader Cal McNair had no choice but to fire him.

A move roughly 2 years too late.

BoB would be a terrible hire. Just leave it at that. His name is an obvious smokescreen.

The dude is a cancer. I live in Houston and want NO part of BoB

He traded DHop for a second rounder and a decrepit David Johnson. He should’ve been fired immediately after that move

He was a terrible GM.

He was a terrible GM but a solid coach, he did make the playoffs twice in an admittedly shitty division but with horrendous QBs like Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallette and Osweiler

I live in Houston so got to see him first hand. Most people here couldn’t stand the guy.

Very arrogant and the type that thinks he is smarter than everyone else….even though he didn’t win anything.

He destroyed the team with idiotic trades as well.

The guy is bad news. Not a winner and very unlikeable is not a good combo.

Had issues massaging the salary cap

He traded Deandre Hopkins for David Johnson

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Bill O'Brien compared Hopkins to Aaron Hernandez because he felt Hopkins was a locker room cancer because he had too many "baby mamas."

That should tell you all you need to know about BoB.

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I can't see recruits lining up to play for him as a HC.

O’Brien was. And is too full of himself. He lost the team long ago, insulted his best players, traded away anyone with a pulse and hired terrible assistants. He might have been good as an assistant under Belichek but he was way over his head in .Houston. Don’t want.