re: ***The Official Who is our Next OC Thread*** Update in OP Jan 4

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but he was deeply involved in everything going on

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Have you got a credible link for that?

Not that I want Briles, but I've never heard anything other than speculation about his involvement. And I doubt four different universities would have hired him without hesitation if there were any indication he had been part of it.

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I like Strong and am glad he's around, and if he became DC I wouldn't be pissed or anything. I just don't quite get the infatuation. He's like the old school backup Alabama quarterback at this point

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Strong might be great...but offenses have advanced since he was strictly a DC. Pruitt, Aranda, Venables, and Smart are/were all good DCs...and all have had multiple games in the last few seasons where their defenses got shredded...as Saban said earlier this year, it’s to the point now where good offense trumps good defense...unless there are some rule changes, it’s likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future...

Bruce Feldman says Saban is considering Gase and O'Brien for OC:

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Bruce Feldman
@BruceFeldmanCFB 40m

SOURCE: Two of the coaches Nick Saban is considering for Alabama’s soon to be vacant offensive coordinator role: former Jets head coach Adam Gase and former Texans/Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien.

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I know we’re benefiting from this right now, but I fricking need the rules changed and enforced on linemen downfield. It’s making the sport less enjoyable in general. It feels like the only rules changes that occur anymore are in the name of player safety, though, so I guess I won’t hold my breath.

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I've tried to think of some rule changes to counteract the unstoppable offensive rise we're seeing, and this is the best I've got so far:

1. Change the lineman downfield rule to 1 yard like the NFL, and enforce it

2. Receivers now need both feet down in bounds to secure a catch. This is a minor thing that wouldn't have that big of an impact, but I think with the way offenses have gone it's time to adopt this rule from the NFL as well.

3. Make more offensive penalties a loss of down. This one might be controversial, but I think it would help.

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Go get Glenn Schumann.

He knows our system. Great recruiter

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He has an interesting backstory.

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Unlike most collegiate coaches, Schumann did not play college football. Instead, after graduating high school in Texas, Schumann enrolled at Alabama to be a student assistant under legendary coach Nick Saban. Reflecting on his time as a student assistant, he said that being a student assistant was, “doing anything that was asked of me.”[5] He would go on to graduate from Alabama in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in arts, and he got his master's in sports management in 2013.[6]

He served as a student assistant from 2008 to 2011, when he graduated. During his time as a student assistant, Alabama won one SEC Championship and one National Championship. After he graduated, he became a graduate assistant under Saban. During his time as an on-field assistant, he worked closely with Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart in installing the defensive gameplan every week.[7] He worked with the outside linebackers during the early part of his stint and switched to working with the secondary for the latter part of his tenure as graduate assistant.[8]

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How good of a recruiter is OBrien, and where are his best connections ?

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He did a good job recruiting QBs and TEs (mainly Hackenberg) in his short time at Penn State, even with an insanely toxic situation, no bowls and minimal scholarships. He signed both Hackenberg and McSorley.

2013 - Christian Hackenberg (5-star, #13 overall, #2 QB)
2014 - Michael O'Connor (4-star, #252 overall, #15 QB)
2014 - Trace McSorley (3-star, #571, #15 QB)

2013 - Adam Breneman (4-star, #43 overall, #2 TE)
2014 - Mike Gesicki (4-star, #223 overall, #6 TE)

2013 - DaeSean Hamilton (3-star, #439 overall, #63 WR)
2014 - Chris Godwin (4-star, #168 overall, #26 WR)

He signed Gesicki and Chris Godwin in his first full class at PSU that signed right after he left for Houston.

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but he was one of their recruiting coordinators who was responsible for getting girls to have sex with the recruits they hosted on visits and also pitched those recruits on how easily they'd get laid at Baylor

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Which is hilarious, considering they're a Baptist school.

But it can't be very hard for a football player to get laid at any major University, except maybe byu.

This is from SI; sounds like his system is very complicated. Great, now the offense can slow down to the same speed as the defense.

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What, exactly, is so complicated? Why is New England the place that rookies and once productive receivers—with rare exception—go to see their careers extinguished?


On most plays, every eligible receiver is expected to be able to adjust his route—and this after Brady may have alerted to an alternate play—depending on the defense. Here’s a rundown of the different types of route modifications New England runs:

ROUTE CONVERSION: If a play is designed for, say, a comeback route (or a hitch) and the defender is playing in press man instead of the anticipated zone coverage, a receiver might convert his route to a fade down the sideline.

SIGHT ADJUSTMENT: If a receiver recognizes that his defender—usually a safety—is coming on a blitz, he’ll adjust his route. (Simply put: Conversions are based on coverage type, adjustments react to blitzing DBs.) A vertical route, for example, might adjust to a slant, getting the receiver open more quickly in the void the safety just created. This is different from a hot route, which most teams use to thwart front-seven blitzes and which are usually executed by tight ends or backs.

CHOICE ROUTE: Referred to by some teams as a “two-way go,” this usually occurs with a tight end or an outside receiver. In essence, if the defender plays you inside, you break outside. If there are two split safeties in the middle of the field (termed “middle of field open”), a receiver may split them; against one safety (“middle closed”), the receiver would stay in the seam.

OPTION ROUTE: This almost always involves the slot receiver playing off the defense. Against a zone, for example, he’ll sit down for a short pass. Against man coverage, he could break right, left or go deep depending on the positioning and the skills of the man in coverage. On the Patriots’ first third-down attempt against the Chiefs, Edelman took the option to turn for a seven-yard pass and then spun for another four. To see what these concepts might look like in execution, let's examine a play design from an old Weis playbook:

1 OUT SLOT—51 HITCH/OPEQ, which is almost certainly still in the Pats’ arsenal. It starts in a three-receiver set, one to the left and two to the right; the quarterback under center, with a single back behind him; and the tight end on the left side of the line. The left-aligned receiver runs a six-yard hitch, but that route converts to a fade if he sees press coverage or if the safeties roll coverage down to his side. The tight end blocks but then releases into the left flat if the play breaks down and extends. The running back picks up the middle linebacker if he blitzes; if he doesn’t, the back runs a middle check-down and then can release in the opposite direction of the tight end. On the right, the slot receiver runs a six-yard option route that can be a comeback, curl, dig or out, depending on the coverage. The outside receiver to the right runs a 14-yard comeback that converts to a post-corner if the safeties roll coverage.

Got it? Now imagine that you’re a wideout, and the coach tells you that instead of being the Z receiver, as you were the previous two weeks, you’re going to be the X on this play this week. “It’s very hard [to learn] because we’re constantly putting people in different spots, so you have to know multiple positions,” says Hoyer of the Texans’ version of the system. “You have to make adjustments on the fly relating to coverage. It can be a lot, especially if you’ve played five years in a system where your route is predetermined.”

The magic of the system boils down to receivers interpreting a defense the exact same way—and as quickly—as the quarterback, putting themselves exactly where the QB expects.

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Umm, we've had receivers playing different spots... so Eh.

Three Reasons Why Hiring Bill O'Brien Was A Home Run

BRIAN MCDONALDJAN 2, 2014



1. Overcoming Sanctions at Penn State - Going 15-9 over the last two seasons at Penn State was a major accomplishment. Most assumed the penalties they received would be a death penalty for the program or at least hurt them severely over the next 5 years. Not only did they have scholarships cut, a bowl ban in place that would limit their appeal to the recruits they still had room to pursue, but they also lost several key starters who were allowed to transfer without sitting out a year after the scandal. To lose their leading rusher (Silas Redd), second leading receiver (Justin Brown), and an All-American kicker (Anthony Fera) on top of the already departing seniors would be a push off the cliff for most teams.

Going 8-4 in 2012 with everything that happened around that program was amazing, equal to an 11-1 type season under normal circumstances in my opinion; no surprise that he was named the national coach of the year.

2. Quarterback Development -

Bill O'Brien's experience with Tom Brady as the Patriots quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, and how he developed Matt McGloin and Christian Hackenberg at Penn State, gives me confidence that he knows what to look for in a quarterback and how to get the best out of his quarterbacks. In 2012 his quarterback Matt McGloin completed 60.5% of his passes with 24 touchdowns to only 5 interceptions; all career bests. Over his previous two seasons before O'Brien arrived, McGloin completed 54% of his passes with 22 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. With O'Brien in 2012, McGloin led the conference in completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and was fourth in passer efficiency. Without O'Brien, McGloin wouldn't be in the NFL. This year in 2013, his freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg finished third in the conference in passing yards, and had a 2/1 touchdown to interception ratio (20/10). O'Brien can clearly coach up his quarterbacks, a valuable trait to have considering the Texans will likely select a QB with the first overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

3. Creative Offense - For a guy who was once applauded as an offensive genius, Gary Kubiak's offense looked pretty anemic over the last several seasons. In 2010 the Texans averaged 6.0 yards per offensive play. That average dropped to 5.7 in 2011, to 5.5 in 2012, and to 5.1 this season. Don't get me wrong, his offense had some good years, but the game is moving in a different direction.

Kubiak's scheme is solid, but requires too many things to go well in order to succeed. What I mean by that is, you can win with defense and a strong running game, but an explosive pass offense that picks up yards in big chunks gives you better odds. If your offense depends on three and four yard gains to move the ball, it necessarily takes you longer to move into scoring range and allows more opportunities for a mistake. That type of run first system also puts you in a bad position whenever you fall behind by more than one score. Kubiak's passing game depends on using formations that make pass plays look like run plays before the snap. If the run wasn't a threat, the Texans passing game fell apart. Of course, some of that is on the quarterback, but not all of it is. Nearly every new rule in recent years has favored the passing game; they need a new coach that understands how to take advantage of that. That's not to say that they should abandon the run, but at least be more creative in how its executed like we've seen in Philadelphia and San Francisco. Instead of running to set up the pass, I believe they need to pass to back defenders off the line of scrimmage and force opponents to put in an extra defensive back, then punish them with the run. The Patriots are considered to be a modern, pass-first team, but have finished inside the top 10 in rushing yards in each of the last two seasons; the Texans should adopt that same offensive philosophy.

In 2011 when Bill O'Brien was the Patriots offensive coordinator, they averaged 6.3 yards per play (higher than any Texans team under Kubiak) and finished 3rd in points scored. In 2012 at Penn State, Bill O'Brien's offense ranked second in the conference in passing yards per game and tied for second in passing touchdowns per game. This season Penn State finished third in the conference in passing yards per game. Below is a description of his offense from The Sideline View:

"O'Brien favors an up-tempo offense mixing a power running game with inside and outside zone and a play-action passing attack as a counter. While Chip Kelly's offense may not be the norm around NFL circles within two or three years, I do think O'Brien's will be as tempo will likely continue to catch on around the league while still utilizing more traditional running and passing attacks."

The use of an up-tempo offense is key in my opinion. Kubiak's system lived by the motto of "take what the defense gives you," which is a defeatist attitude to me. Much prefer an offense that attacks and forces the tempo and style of the game, not to mention the added benefit of tiring out the opposing defense. Just look at the top 10 teams in offensive yards per game this season in the NFL; almost every team in the top 10 is a team that uses an uptempo offense. Six of those top seven teams in offensive yards per game, and five of the top six in yards per play this season made the playoffs. Finally the Texans offense will join teams like the Patriots, Broncos, Eagles, Saints, and Packers in the 21st century.

This was absolutely the correct hire, but by no means is it a guarantee that they'll win multiple championships. It does show however that to Bob McNair's credit, he and the rest of the Texans brain trust identified their shortcomings under Kubiak and what qualities made other teams consistent winners at a high level. Bill O'Brien comes off as a hardcore football lifer with a great understanding on how to win football games; I would be surprised if he failed in Houston.