Texans Hiring Dabo Swinney Away From Clemson?
Texans Hiring Dabo Swinney Away From Clemson?
The Houston Texans fired Bill O’Brien on Monday afternoon following a disastrous 0-4 start to the season.
It was a mildly unexpected move, but only due to the timing. Coaches are rarely fired four weeks into the year when they just got promoted to general manager that past offseason.
Big picture, though – this move was inevitable.
The obvious question now becomes: who comes next?
According to CBS Sports, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney makes a lot of sense.
“Swinney is apparently also close with Easterby — how the connection was established I’m not sure, but undoubtedly it was only strengthened over the last two years with Easterby working closely with Swinney’s old quarterback Watson,” the report noted.
This is either gonna be a huge success or total disaster. https://t.co/zWjau1vIt6
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 5, 2020
“Would the Clemson coach bounce for the NFL? He will likely lose Trevor Lawrence after this season and maybe he wants to take a shot at the professional level (after potentially walking off with another title).
“Swinney called Deshaun a ‘Michael Jordan’ type and you don’t get many chances to work with a former quarterback who won you a national title in his prime at the next level,” it continued.
“Plenty of people will question if Swinney can be an NFL coach given his energetic style but plenty of people questioned whether Swinney should be the next coach at Clemson. That didn’t work out well for the doubters.”
The prospect of Swinney and Watson reuniting in the NFL in an attempt to replicate their collegiate magic is obviously appealing on a number of different levels.
It is also hard to dispute the idea that, with Lawrence leaving for the pros this coming year, Swinney’s job will suddenly get much more difficult. He could easily win a National Championship this season and ride off into the sunset.
Poor Kyle Kuzma is out here catching strays left and right. https://t.co/fxD23GLi4L
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 5, 2020
Will that actually happen, though? Time will tell. But if Houston doesn’t hire anyone until the end of the college football season, then it would be a clear indication that they are at least considering the move.
As far as O’Brien goes – it is hard to see him getting another shot as a head coach or GM any time soon.
Trading away DeAndre Hopkins for David Johnson and a second rounder, dealing Jadeveon Clowney for a third rounder, moving first and second rounders for Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills, and swapping a second rounder for Brandin Cooks will do that to your reputation.
To his credit, he handled his departure from the Texans in relatively classy fashion.
“I respected the decision,” he said.
This is what happens when you give Bill Belichick two weeks to prepare for COVID. https://t.co/0XJ6QGmVVL
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 6, 2020
“Look, I know in this business when we lost to Minnesota, a game that we had a chance to win. Give Minnesota credit. They did a great job. But I knew that something like this could happen. That’s the business.”
It is going to be an interesting next few months for the Texans organization. The moves made now will drastically impact the franchise for many years to come.
Related: Texans Hiring Josh McDaniels As Next Head Coach?
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
