Houston Texans Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Texans Name Bill O’Brien As GM

By Zachary Links | at January 28, 2020 3:01 pm

The Texans have given head coach Bill O’Brien the title of general manager, per a club announcement. O’Brien has effectively been in charge of the roster for a while, but Tuesday’s announcement makes it official. Meanwhile, they’ve promoted executive vice president of team development Jack Easterby to executive vice president of football operations.

“Preparations are underway for the 2020 season and I thought it was important to update titles, roles and responsibilities for Bill O’Brien and Jack Easterby so they more accurately reflect the way we have been operating for the past eight months,” said owner Cal McNair. “I was encouraged by the progress that our team made on the field this year which was due in part to our new structure, operating approach and the leaders within our football operations group. I am proud that we provided our fans with many thrilling victories at home, including a playoff win, and we delivered another double-digit win season. Our fans deserve that, but now it is time for the organization to get back to work toward our pursuit of a world championship for the city of Houston.”

Last summer, the Texans fired GM Brian Gaine after just one year at the helm. Since then, they’ve taken a GM-by-committee approach, with O’Brien leading the charge and Easterby holding significant influence over the roster. Execs Matt Bazirgan, James Liipfert, and Chris Olsen were also instrumental in the revamped configuration.

With O’Brien as the de facto GM, the Texans went 10-6, captured the AFC South title, and reached the divisional round for the fourth time in franchise history.

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Texans Could Still Hire Caserio

By Andrew Ortenberg | at January 25, 2020 9:39 pm

The Patriots have a big offseason ahead of them. Obviously there’s still the Tom Brady situation to work out, but there are some important behind the scenes decisions that need to be made as well. The front office is in a bit of limbo, as two prominent execs in Nick Caserio and Monti Ossenfort are both on expiring contracts that run out in May. The Texans originally tried to hire Caserio as their GM last year, which resulted in tampering charges. There’s now a good chance that both Caserio and Ossenfort move on from the Pats before the 2020 season, per Albert Breer of SI.com.

Even though we just heard recently that the Texans weren’t going to hire a GM and would continue with Bill O’Brien running the show, Breer writes that the “Texans would find a way to hire him as GM” if Caserio wanted to work in Houston. If Caserio and Ossenfort both leave, Breer writes that the Patriots would likely promote Dave Ziegler. It was rumored that Josh McDaniels might’ve wanted to take Ziegler with him had he landed the head coaching job in Cleveland.

4 comments Carolina Panthers Denver Broncos Houston Texans New England Patriots Pittsburgh Steelers Al Holcomb Bradley Chubb Bud Dupree Monti Ossenfort Nick Caserio

Will Fuller Undergoes Surgery

By Sam Robinson | at January 25, 2020 3:45 pm

A key component in the Texans’ offense, Will Fuller again struggled to stay healthy this season. Houston’s No. 2 wide receiver missed five regular-season games and the team’s first-round playoff contest.

Fuller took a big step toward a full recovery recently, undergoing sports hernia surgery to repair the groin issues he dealt with this season, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

The Texans’ top deep threat aggravated the injury in the divisional-round loss to the Chiefs. Fuller has yet to play a full season, coming closest in a 14-game rookie campaign. This will mark another offseason of rehab for the former first-round pick. He spent the 2019 offseason rehabbing an ACL tear he sustained in 2018. Fuller dealt with hamstring and groin injuries this season, with the latter malady shelving him for Houston’s wild-card game.

The Notre Dame alum is going into his fifth-year option season. He’s on the Texans’ books for $10.16MM. The 2020 campaign will be critical for the former first-round pick. He will need to show he can stay healthy in order to command a lucrative extension or a long-term free agent deal as a 2021 free agent.

Deshaun Watson‘s regular-season QBR was more than 15 points higher with Fuller on the field than when he was sidelined. Despite the five-game absence, the 25-year-old wideout totaled a career-high 670 receiving yards. The Texans have Fuller, DeAndre Hopkins and Kenny Stills under contract going into next season. Fuller and Stills, however, are entering contract years. Thanks to the Stills trade and Fuller’s salary spike, the Texans’ receiver trio is set to comprise more than $31MM on the team’s 2020 payroll.

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Latest On Vernon Hargreaves, Texans

By Ben Levine | at January 25, 2020 9:53 am

The Texans decision to claim cornerback Vernon Hargreaves off waivers mostly worked out for the organization. However, the team now has an interesting decision to make on the former first-rounder.

As Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes, the organization must decide whether they want to pick up the fifth-year option on the 24-year-old. The team could alternatively cut Hargreaves before that option becomes guaranteed (similar to what they did last year with Kevin Johnson), or both sides could work on finding common ground on a new contract. Either way, it sounds like the team is interested in retaining the defensive back.

“Vernon came in here, he works very hard,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “Very hard worker, guy that really showed up to practice every day, learned the system. I don’t think that’s easy to be able to come in, in the middle of a season, and really later than that, and play that nickel position is not easy.

So, I give a lot of credit to Vernon. There’s a lot of things that he’s going to work hard to improve upon. We’re going to help them with that, but I think Vernon stepped into a tough situation and really made the best of it.”

Hargreaves fell out of favor with Bruce Arians and the Buccaneers coaching staff, leading to Tampa Bay’s decision to waive him in November. The cornerback was ultimately claimed by Houston, and he compiled 21 tackles, one tackle for a loss, and two passes defended down the stretch. While he struggled a bit during his team’s playoff loss to the Chiefs, it sounds like the organization is confident he can take another step forward during his second season in Houston.

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Texans S Justin Reid To Undergo Surgery

By Rory Parks | at January 22, 2020 11:51 am

For the second straight year, Texans safety Justin Reid will undergo offseason surgery. Last year, Reid went under the knife for a wrist ailment, and this year, he will have surgery to repair a torn labrum, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 KRIV tweets.

Reid has quietly established himself as one of the game’s better young safeties, and it’s fair to wonder how good he would be if he were completely healthy. As a rookie, he battled the wrist injury throughout the 2018 season, and he was playing through the labrum tear in 2019. His perseverance has earned him the respect of his teammates, who voted him the 2019 winner of the Ed Block Courage Award.

Though he did miss one regular season game with a concussion, Reid started every one of the club’s other 15 games, picking up two interceptions to go along with 78 total tackles. He was also on the field for every defensive snap in both of the Texans’ postseason contests.

Houston largely struggled in pass defense in 2019, but Reid earned strong reviews for his work from Pro Football Focus. As a 2018 rookie, the Stanford product will be eligible for an extension for the first time next offseason. However, fellow safety Jahleel Addae is eligible for free agency this year, along with cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph and Bradley Roby, so there could be a lot of turnover in the Texans’ defensive backfield.

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Texans Hire Anthony Weaver As DC

By Zachary Links | at January 20, 2020 9:01 am

The Texans are making a change at defensive coordinator. Anthony Weaver has been promoted from defensive line coach to take over for Romeo Crennel, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Crennel was said to be considering retirement. It’s not immediately clear whether the 72-year-old will walk away from the game or return to the team in some sort of advisory capacity. The former Browns and Chiefs head coach served as defensive coordinator from 2014-16 and returned to that role in 2018, after Mike Vrabel became the Titans’ HC. All in all, he’s spent 38 years as an NFL coach.

The Texans ranked 19th in defensive DVOA in 2019 and just fired outside linebackers coach John Pagano. Crennel’s defense is coming off a brutal divisional-round showing, when the Chiefs erased a 24-point deficit by halftime in a 51-31 rout.

Weaver, 39, played with the Texans for three seasons in the 2000s and has coached in Houston for the past four years.

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Romeo Crennel Contemplating Retirement

By Sam Robinson | at January 18, 2020 3:21 pm

A two-stint defensive coordinator for the Texans, Romeo Crennel has not committed to staying in his role for the 2020 season. The longtime coach is considering retirement, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Crennel, 72, has played key roles on all six Bill O’Brien Houston staffs. The former Browns and Chiefs head coach has served as defensive coordinator from 2014-16 and returned to that role in 2018, after Mike Vrabel became the Titans’ HC.

Should Crennel step down after 38 years as an NFL coach, Texans defensive line coach Anthony Weaver is viewed as a top in-house replacement candidate, Wilson adds. Weaver, 39, played with the Texans for three seasons in the 2000s and has coached in Houston for the past four years.

Although Crennel served as HC in Cleveland from 2005-08 and spent the 2012 season as the full-time HC in Kansas City, he may still be best known for his work as defensive coordinator for the Patriots’ first three Super Bowl championship teams. He has coached in the NFL since 1981, beginning as the Giants’ special teams coach and staying in New York until 1992. Working under Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, Crennel has won five Super Bowls as an assistant.

The Texans ranked 19th in defensive DVOA this season and just fired outside linebackers coach John Pagano. Crennel’s defense is coming off a brutal divisional-round showing, when the Chiefs erased a 24-point deficit by halftime in a 51-31 rout. After finally deploying J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney for a full season together in 2018, the Texans traded Clowney and again saw Watt miss extensive time due to injury. Houston ranked seventh in DVOA last season, rebounding from a down year under Vrabel.

5 comments Houston Texans Anthony Weaver Romeo Crennel

Texans Fire John Pagano

By Sam Robinson | at January 18, 2020 3:10 pm

John Pagano‘s Texans stay will be limited to two years. The team dismissed him from a role as outside linebackers coach and senior defensive assistant, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

Pagano formerly worked as a defensive coordinator for the Chargers and Raiders, with the former stint (from 2012-16) being his most notable NFL gig to date. He caught on with Houston in 2018.

The Texans did not generate a consistent pass rush after J.J. Watt‘s pectoral injury this season and will be looking for a new coach for this group. This also comes after the Texans could not deter Patrick Mahomes from a stunning fortune reversal in Kansas City last weekend. The Chiefs superstar directed seven straight touchdown drives, erasing the Texans’ 24-0 lead.

Pagano’s position group changed considerably from 2018-19, with the Texans trading Jadeveon Clowney just before the season. While Whitney Mercilus jumped out to a hot start in teaming with Watt, he went sackless in the first seven games in which the three-time defensive player of the year did not finish.

The younger brother of Chuck Pagano, John had not worked with O’Brien prior to arriving in Houston. John Pagano spent 15 seasons in San Diego before being fired as DC when the team relocated to Los Angeles. He spent one season in Oakland as defensive coordinator for Jack Del Rio‘s defense but was not retained when Jon Gruden came aboard.

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