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NFL Power Rankings 2019: Post-mandatory minicamp edition

By Randy Gurzi

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 20: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots prepares to take a snap in the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs during the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 20, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 20: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots prepares to take a snap in the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs during the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 20, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 30: Head coach Bill O’Brien of the Houston Texans talks with Deshaun Watson #4 and Brandon Weeden #3 before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 30: Head coach Bill O’Brien of the Houston Texans talks with Deshaun Watson #4 and Brandon Weeden #3 before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

12. Houston Texans (9)

The Houston Texans haven’t had a great offseason at all. First, they reached for Tytus Howard in the first round of the draft ‚— in large part due to their inability to fix the offensive line for years. Then, they fired general manager Brian Gaine — who was handpicked by head coach Bill O’Brien and still had more than three years left on his contract.

They then targeted New England director of player personnel Nick Caserio but failed in that pursuit. This leaves them with O’Brien as the primary decision maker in Houston, which is less than ideal — and undeserved after the way the team fell flat last season according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.

"“The best part is that, as we breathe, O’Brien is unofficially the Texans’ primary decision maker when it comes to all team personnel, which means that he’s holding three huge duties (head coach, offensive playcaller, quasi-GM) all at once … and is coming off an embarrassing home wild-card defeat. You lose big and you get more power with the Texans. Makes perfect sense, right?”"

O’Brien has a career record of just 42-8 yet for some reason is treated as though he’s a perennial top-five coach. Eventually, he will break through and become the Bill Belichick type coach he really wants to be. Or the team will fall so far that they’ll move on. Not sure which one they’re closest to right now but they do at least have a stud quarterback in Deshaun Watson who masks a lot of the deficiencies around him.

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