Bill O’Brien’s time in the NFL had a lot of ups and downs. He was a member of the New England Patriots coaching staff for many years, and after a brief stint at Penn State, he got an opportunity to be the head coach of the Houston Texans. O’Brien did have some success as the Texans coach, leading the team to a 52-48 record during his tenure. During that time, he brought them to four playoff appearances, making it to the divisional round twice. Despite making the playoffs, however, with the team’s lack of deep runs, the front office ultimately cut ties with him in 2020. This was likely a shock to O’Brien at the time, as he was also the team GM, responsible for several key decisions within the organization. He recently spoke about becoming the team GM, and how this was a mistake for his career. As he said on the “Next Up With Adam” podcast via Dov Kleiman, “In the end, that’s not who I am. That’s another lesson learned… In some respects, I lost some of the guys I was coaching… In the end, that was a mistake by me.”
Bill O’Brien regrets becoming the GM of the #Texans:
“In the end, that’s not who I am. That’s another lesson learned . . . In some respects, I lost relationships with some of the guys I was coaching . . . In the end, that was a mistake by me. I wish I really didn’t do that to… pic.twitter.com/fldprkxu0W
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 11, 2024
O’Brien clearly regrets his choice to become the Texans GM, as it likely cost him his job as their head coach. Since leaving the Texans, O’Brien has worked a handful of landing spots, including the University of Alabama, a return to the Patriots, and is now the head coach at Boston College. With any luck, O’Brien will be able to reclaim his career, hoping to learn from his past mistakes.
