Texans coach Bill O'Brien interested in University of Maryland job

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Texans embattled coach Bill O'Brien, perhaps headed to a showdown with general manager Rick Smith this offseason as ownership mulls a change in its power structure, is very intrigued by the opening at the University of Maryland, according to several sources close to the school, and his interest in the job is not lost on the school's primary boosters.

O'Brien, who had a successful but brief college head-coaching stint with Penn State before taking the Texans job, coached previously at Maryland as an assistant and, according to sources close to the school, prominent Maryland alumnus Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, and other key figures in the hiring process are aware of O'Brien's interest. It is clear to many in the Texans organization that significant change is likely coming, with O'Brien and Smith not both remaining in the current roles in all likelihood, and owner Bob McNair has long championed Smith, creating an uneasy climate within the franchise.

O'Brien is only in his second year with the team, but turmoil has been increasingly common. The Texans are falling far short of expectations, and it is becoming increasingly common for coaches to be gone after just a year or two. The Maryland job is more attractive than many on the outside perceive, especially given Plank's financial and emotional commitment to the school and his desire to turn it into a Big Ten power, including a plan to build state-of-the-art training facilities.

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