Houston Texans: Bill O’Brien climbing up the coaching ranks

If anything, Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien has been consistent, and that brings its own value in the NFL world.

After two-straight AFC South division titles and three straight seasons at 9-7, Bill O’Brien has helped turn the Houston Texans into the top dog in the division. It may not be the stranglehold that the Indianapolis Colts had during the Peyton Manning era, but it’s good enough.

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While it would be best to see the Texans cement themselves as the dominant force in the division, it is clear that the AFC South will be giving Houston a run for its money. The surging Tennessee Titans tied with Houston in 2016, the Indianapolis Colts are always a threat with Andrew Luck at quarterback, and the Jacksonville Jaguars may eventually find the door out of the cellar.

But if the past has shown anything about O’Brien, it’s shown that he is able to stay just one step ahead of the competition. He has shown that his team can keep its nose above water. In an NFL world that is dominated by Bill Belichick, staying a game above .500 isn’t sexy, but it is effective.

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In Rotoworld’s recent head coach rankings, O’Brien’s ability to stay just a step ahead was rewarded by rising up three spots from 10th in the NFL to seventh. He snuck ahead of Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers and Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers. Patrick Daughtery wrote:

"Bill O’Brien makes the best lemonade in the NFL. He’s turned the lemons of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Hoyer and Brock Osweiler into three consecutive 9-7 seasons, the most recent of which ended with a Wild Card win over the Raiders."

Few head coaches have had to struggle through a lack of quarterback ability like O’Brien has. Deshaun Watson could change all of that going forward. Watson could be the perfect complementary piece to O’Brien and finally let him climb higher in the head coach rankings.

After years of struggle without a quarterback, O’Brien’s 27-21 (.563) record could finally take off. There are nine active head coaches with a better win percentage than O’Brien and all of them have top-notch quarterbacks. From Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers to Carson Palmer and Alex Smith, the ability range of the quarterbacks is notable, but all of them are competent. That is something Brock Osweiler simply was not.

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While the Houston Texans’ strength on the field remains the defensive side of the ball, its hard-nosed coach could be its biggest asset. If he can even slightly improve the offensive-defensive balance with a new quarterback or simply gutting it out with another mix of oddities at the game’s most important position, he’ll be proving his ability once again. O’Brien isn’t single-handedly keeping the Texans afloat, but he certainly deserves the lion’s share of the credit.