Well, it took a few franchise-shifting trades and 0-4 start to the 2020 season, but the Houston Texans finally made the change that fans had long asked for.
One day after Houston’s 31-23 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Texans owner D. Cal McNair fired head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien.
O’Brien had been with the Texans since 2014 and failed to make it beyond the Divisional Round in any of Houston’s four playoff appearances. And his offseason moves didn’t help the cause either. O’Brien traded star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round pick to Arizona for running back David Johnson and a second-round pick. He then followed that up by decimating the Texans’ draft.
At the time, the trade was heavily criticized, and Johnson’s production in Houston has remained mediocre (while Hopkins has thrived in Arizona).
Fans had plenty of thoughts on the Texans’ decision to make a change.
Bill O’Brien: “We’re 0-4, but we’re gonna fix this!”
Texans: pic.twitter.com/QMutvTKnKO
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) October 5, 2020
Bill O’Brien…
-traded DeAndre Hopkins for a second-rounder
-traded a second-rounder for Brandin Cooks
-gave Hopkins’s money to Randall Cobb
-traded away Houston’s two first-rounders
-signed Tunsil to a precedent-altering contractRidiculous.
— Danny Heifetz (@Danny_Heifetz) October 5, 2020
Bill O’Brien traded the best receiver in the NFL because of a personal feud and then started the season 0-4 and got fired. So Houston lost Deandre Hopkins for personal embarrassment and nothing else.
Being a Texans “fan” is an elite level of pain.
— Roosh (@RooshWilliams) October 5, 2020
Can we have DeAndre Hopkins back? @AZCardinals
— 🎙Ross Bolen (@WRBolen) October 5, 2020
The sound you hear is @HoustonTexans rifling through desk drawers searching for the receipt of the @DeAndreHopkins trade to take to the NFL Returns window they wish existed.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) October 5, 2020
Bill O'Brien traded DeAndre Hopkins for David Johnson, shipped out all the Texans draft picks, fired his GM and took total control of the organization, routinely put Deshaun Watson in physical harm with his play calling but it took an 8-point Week 4 Vikings loss to get him fired.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) October 5, 2020
“Bill O’Brien has been fired.”
DeAndre Hopkins: pic.twitter.com/ao9mW09RzS
— MyBookie Sportsbook (@mybookiebet) October 5, 2020
Imagine a receiver like Deandre Hopkins with deshaun watson
— kyle/Free agent nba fan (@knicks_tape99) October 5, 2020
Trading DeAndre Hopkins for a running back did not work out. https://t.co/t7n6ET3Om9
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) October 5, 2020
A full three years before Bill O'Brien TRADED DEANDRE HOPKINS for a running back, he had to GIVE SOMEONE A SECOND-ROUND PICK TO TAKE BROCK OSWEILER'S CONTRACT
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) October 5, 2020
So maybe Bill O'Brien shouldn't have traded DeAndre Hopkins?
— Adam Rank (@adamrank) October 5, 2020
Bill O'Brien getting fired after trading away DeAndre Hopkins and all the Texans' picks pic.twitter.com/10YZWW0jqS
— Grant Goldberg (@GrantGoldberg) October 5, 2020
Who could have predicted that trade wouldn’t work out besides, uh, everybody?
