The man who helped State College move on from Jerry Sandusky will attempt to make Houston forget the Texans’ terrible 2-14 campaign.
According to ESPN, the Houston Texans will announce Bill O’Brien as the team’s new coach by the end of this week. O’Brien replaces interim coach Wade Phillips, who has yet to be officially fired, who replaced Gary Kubiak. Like the Texans, their two coaches endured a difficult season. Phillips lost his father, legendary coach Bum Phillips, and Kubiak suffered stroke during a November 3 game against the Indianapolis Colts.
O’Brien inherits the first pick in the 2014 NFL draft and a talented team that made the playoffs in 2012 only to collapse this season. Owner Bob McNair called his 2013 roster the most talented in the team’s short history, and many experts–NFL.com’s Adam Schein and ESPN’s Tim Hasselback among them–predicted Texans to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. But Texans’ play didn’t match the aspirations so many had for them.
O’Brien served as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots during their last appearance in the Super Bowl and coached Penn State to a 15-9 record during his tenure. He won the Big Ten’s “coach of the year” honor in 2012.
Prized Penn State recruit Thomas Holley told ESPN that O’Brien insisted he would stay in State College. “He said it’s not true,” the defensive lineman explained a few days ago, “He’s going to be at Penn State and he’s going to be there for me when I get there.”
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