5 replacements for Bill O’Brien as Houston Texans head coach

The Houston Texans need to look for a new head coach after collapsing vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. Here are five replacements for Bill O’Brien in Houston.

The Houston Texans absolutely have to make a change at the head-coaching position.

This team was up 24-0 on the Kansas City Chiefs in the second quarter of their AFC Divisional Round game on Sunday afternoon. Yet, the Texans not only blew that 24-point lead but lost by 20 points and gave up a 50-burger defensively, 51-31. Bill O’Brien needs to be replaced before 2020.

Sure, the Texans may try to delay the inevitable at the coaching department, but that loss was beyond embarrassing. Losing to the Chiefs at Arrowhead in a playoff game is understandable. What isn’t is how the Texans defense essentially quit vs. Patrick Mahomes and the vaunted aerial attack of the Chiefs down the stretch.

It may cost defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel his job, but the Texans deep down know they need to do more than this. Crennel is in his early 70s and may just retire after Chiefs head coach Andy Reid just gave him the Steve Spurrier 1990s Florida Gators Fun ‘N’ Gun treatment. However, this is as good as the Texans are going to get under O’Brien’s watch. They need an upgrade now.

If Houston wants to continue to win AFC South titles by going 9-7 and then losing in the AFC Divisional Round once an olympiad, be our guest, Texans. But if you want to join the other 31 NFL franchises in the getting-to-conference-championships club, then you need a new head for next season. Here are five replacements the Texans should look at over O’Brien in the coming days.

Though the Baltimore Ravens lost in epic fashion to the No. 6-seeded Tennessee Titans as the No. 1 seed on Saturday night, it would be worthwhile for the Texans to look at the architect of this year’s most prolific offense in Greg Roman. The plus-one attack was a tad unorthodox, but it got results in this season and it will have Lamar Jackson end up as the unanimous 2019 NFL MVP.

No, this isn’t the first NFL offense that Roman has put his stamp of approval on. He made magical things happen with the San Francisco 49ers for a few years with Colin Kaepernick on Jim Harbaugh’s staff. Roman even turned Tyrod Taylor briefly into a Pro Bowl-level player on Rex Ryan’s Buffalo Bills staff. The question is if he’s the right partner for quarterback Deshaun Watson.

As a quarterback, Watson can certainly make plays with his legs, but he’s always been more of a passer than a running, dating back to his days in the ACC with Clemson and as a high schooler in Gainesville, Georgia. Is Roman’s offense a tad gimmicky? Yes. Is he a tad too quirky to be an NFL head coach? Probably, but if he gets an opportunity, he might be a bigger hit than you think.

At the very least, the Texans should interview Roman if they do choose to move off O’Brien as their head coach. Roman’s recipe for success is clearly transferable, as it has worked to varying levels of success at three different NFL stops. His best shot at being a head coach might come next year if the Ravens play well again, but Roman is at least worth a look at this point.