The Houston Texans' dismissal of former head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien might have been about more than just poor personnel decisions.
O'Brien reportedly got into a number of arguments with various members of the organization, including star defensive lineman J.J. Watt.
John Granato of ESPN 97.5 Houston reported Watt called O'Brien out for his coaching ability in practice during the week of the Texans-Steelers matchup in Week 3. Apparently, the skirmish led to some sort of mutiny against O'Brien:
“A source tells me that JJ Watt and Bill O’Brien had a heated exchange on the practice field the week of the Steelers game in which JJ called BOB out for his coaching ability,” Granato tweeted Wednesday. “It began a player revolt that ended up getting BOB fired.
Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle added more context, noting O'Brien also had verbal sparring sessions with defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and other members of the organization.
Bill O'Brien got into an argument with defensive end J.J. Watt and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver on the practice field along with verbal altercations with other staff members during his final weeks as coach-general manager before being fired, according to league sources
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 7, 2020
This would seem to explain–at least in part–Watt's cryptic tweet that surfaced on Tuesday just one day after O'Brien was fired.
O'Brien was already on the hot seat after a tumultuous offseason and an 0-4 start to the year. He had deprived the team of draft capital in recent years while also feuding with All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
But O'Brien's reported engagement with Watt was undoubtedly the last straw.
Watt has long established himself as the leader of the franchise, and there was no way O'Brien was going to survive the year once the two stopped seeing eye to eye.
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