New Houston Texans HC Bill O'Brien had a lot of work to do after coming to the Texans and gutting the entire staff with the exception of 2 coaches. He has finished his hiring process, and built a pretty good coaching staff on both sides of the ball. Here's a look at the Texans new staff. A coaching unit O'Brien hopes will get the job done now with a team that recently finished dead last in the league, after winning their first 2 games but losing 14 straight to finish the season.
Offensive Coordinator: In what was a surprise to some new HC Bill O'Brien will doing double duty, as he will also be the Texans play caller on offense. At Penn St where he coached the last 2 season's he did the same. To those who weren't aware of that fact it was probably surprising hearing that he'd do this. But no one knows his offense better than him, so hiring and teaching it to someone would be more hassle than it's worth.
Offensive Line: Paul Dunn was hired as the Texans new offensive line coach after spending the past 2 seasons in the same position with the Atlanta Falcons. Dunn will be responsible for keeping whatever QB the Texans are starting next season upright. Coming off a season where the Texans went from Matt Schaub to Case Keenum with the same type of results Dunn will have his work cut out for him. The good thing is that Matt Ryan is a pocket passer that usually did stay clean, I'm sure O'Brien hopes for the same results in his first year in Houston.
WR and RB coaches: O'Brien wasn't shy about bringing his own guys in to fill some of the Texans open coaching vacancies. Stan Hixon will be the Texans new WR coach. The same position he held at Penn St, with Charles London also retaining his same role as the Texans new RB coach. Both London and Hixon will be coaching alongside Bill O'Brien for the third season, and should have no problems the talent the Texans already have on the roster in my opinion.
QB coach: George Godsey will be the Texans new QB coach, he has an extensive history with O'Brien. Both were on the sane staff in New England before O'Brien left for Penn St. Godsey stayed with the Pats as the teams TE coach. Godsey has a history as a QB guy, as he played the position at Georgia Tech and was the QB coach at UCF from 05-08.
Defensive coordinator: As it was rumored from the day Wade Phillips was fired, Romeo Crennel will be calling the defensive plays for the Texans. He's got 3 rings already as a defensive coordinator, and is hoping the turnaround in Houston is quick enough to maybe get him another. Whether he'll be able to use the 3-4 scheme he loves so much has yet to be seen but it should be noted he won 2 rings with the Patriots running a 4-3. And the last one they won using whatever they thought would give the defense the best matchup that week. So there's a good chance the Texans will be using a lot of looks this season. The Patriots defense under Crennel was known for disguising their coverages and pressure, which would be a pleasant change from the Phillips scheme that would almost always line up in man and never disguise their blitz packages.
Defensive line coach: One of the two coaches Bill O'Brien decided to keep was Bill Kollar. Can't really argue with the move either. Kollar is definitely a big part of the reason for JJ Watt's success since he's been a Texan, along with younger players like Jared Crick. The Texans should be in a good spot with Kollar still coaching.
LB coach: Mike Vrabel will come to Houston to coach under the man who coached him to 3 Super Bowl championships in Romeo Crennell. Vrabel had spent the last 2 season's as a LB coach with the Ohio St Buckeyes but decided to make the jump to the pro ranks with better opportunities ahead of him. Vrabel should have a healthy Brian Cushing back with his LB core at the start of the season. Cushing will benefit from a coach like Vrabel who always flourished as a mental player. He should be able to show Cushing, a player who's always been gifted physically more about the mental side of the position.
Secondary coach: John Butler was O'Briens DC at Penn St but will now go back to doing what he specializes in, which is the secondary. Butler will be running a secondary in Houston that's slowly gotten worst over the past 2 seasons. With players like Jonathan Joseph aging, and Brice McCain underachieving the Butler will have a lot of work to do.
