NFL Rumors: Houston Texans Divided Between Bill O’Brien And Brock Osweiler

A tough season gets tougher for the Houston Texans. After a quarterback meeting, a heated exchange took place between starter Brock Osweiler and head coach Bill O’Brien, as reported by CBS Sports. Both men are under a tremendous amount of pressure to improve an offense that has severely been underachieving this season.

The pressure on Brock Osweiler came immediately after he signed a free-agent contract with the Houston Texans. He received a deal worth approximately $72 million, with $40 million of that being guaranteed. Expectations were high because he was lured away from the Denver Broncos with a gigantic contract that might have been more than he deserved.

The belief around the NFL was that the Houston Texans signed Brock Osweiler because ownership and management felt that he could be their franchise quarterback. Many were under the impression that Bill O’Brien, an offensive guru, was never sold on Osweiler because he felt that the quarterback was not polished enough.

The marriage between Brock Osweiler and Bill O'Brien just got a little rockier. https://t.co/GEKi0A5cTh

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 16, 2016

For the past couple of seasons, the Houston Texans have believed that their defense, led by superstar J.J. Watt, is worthy of contending for the championship in the NFL. It’s their offense that needed to be built up to keep up with the defense.

In addition to handing out a lot of money to Brock Osweiler, the Houston Texans decided to spend valuable resources to improve their offense. Management handed out a contract worth approximately $26 million to former Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller. The Texans also spent their first round pick on Will Fuller, a wide receiver out of Notre Dame.

Reports have surfaced that Brock Osweiler and Bill O’Brien have issues with one another because of the play calling. Osweiler has a tendency to check down to running backs and tight ends, something that Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak instructs his quarterbacks to do.

Some will point out that Bill O’Brien is a bit conservative when it comes to play calling. However, Brock Osweiler is allowed to change up the play and throw deep if the option is there. NFL analysts have noted on a couple of occasions that Osweiler opts to check down instead of throwing to wide receivers that are open deep.

To their credit, the Houston Texans have made sure that Brock Osweiler has plenty of options on offense. In addition to Lamar Miller and Will Fuller, the team also has DeAndre Hopkins, who can easily be one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.

The transition to the offensive scheme concocted by Bill O’Brien has been a difficult one for Brock Osweiler. With Gary Kubiak, he basically only needed to be a game manager. Kubiak leans a lot more towards the running game, so quarterbacks don’t need to do a whole lot.

Brock Osweiler probably should not take the spat too personally. Bill O’Brien once went at it with Tom Brady when the former was with the New England Patriots coaching staff. Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, so if O’Brien is willing to argue with him, then it is not anything personal.

While the owners of the Houston Texans are expecting this to be the year that the team finally contends in the NFL, everyone involved needs to figure out how to get along. That is what Brock Osweiler and Bill O’Brien are going to need to figure out.

Tension between a quarterback and head coach is nothing new in the NFL. Brock Osweiler and Bill O’Brien have become the latest tandem to clash with one another. They’re both being paid millions to figure out how to get past all of this.

[Featured Image by Bob Levey/Getty Images]