How Bill O’Brien wrecked the Texans over an 8-month span

The Houston Texans have been clawing their way out of a rebuild, and they may finally be out of it with the hiring of coach DeMeco Ryans.

While it can be argued that the conflicts with the franchise quarterback beginning in January 2021 were a huge setback for the organization, there were decisions made by Bill O’Brien over an eight-month span that were far more injurious to the team than just the problems at quarterback.

According to Michael Renner from Pro Football Focus, there were six mistakes that O’Brien made from August 2019 to March 2020 while coach and moonlighting general manager that set the Texans up for failure over the 2020-22 seasons.

The Texans gave O’Brien general manager control in the summer of 2019, and he reacted like a kid in a candy store. Here’s a highlight reel:

• Traded a 2020 third-rounder for Browns RB Duke Johnson Jr.

• Traded Jadeveon Clowney to Seahawks for a 2020 third-rounder

• Traded a 2020 first, 2021 first, 2021 second and CB Johnson Bademosi to Dolphins for LT Laremy Tunsil and a 2020 fourth

• Traded a 2020 third-rounder from Clowney trade for CB Gareon Conley

• Traded DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth for RB David Johnson, a 2020 second and a 2021 fourth

• Traded a 2020 second for WR Brandin Cooks

Tunsil turned out to be a three-time Pro Bowler. However, the capital given up to acquire him was detrimental to the Texans’ ability to assemble good drafts, especially in general manager Nick Caserio’s first draft in 2021.

The Texans clearly lost on the Hopkins trade, but the worst parts of O’Brien’s wheeling and dealing was giving up third-rounders for role players such as Johnson and Conley.

O’Brien was part of the Texans’ five-man general manager council following the firing of Brian Gaine in early June 2019. Chris Olsen was the interim general manager, but the moves were more like what a coach would make to shore up his roster.

The Texans fired O’Brien after an 0-4 start in 2020. Executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby was named the interim general manager until Caserio was hired in January 2021.