Several of Bill Belichick proteges have attempted to emulate his authoritative style elsewhere and failed. But Bill O'Brien is taking it a step further: He's not merely trying to mimic Belichick; he's trying to recreate the Patriots all together.
Bill O’Brien is building ‘Patriots South’ in Houston. And it’s kind of working.
O’Brien has a chance to be the first Bill Belichick disciple to enjoy a successful head coaching run. He’s recruited several ex-Patriots to join him for the ride.
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O'Brien will face off against Belichick for the first time Sunday night when New England visits Houston, but he's not the only ex-Patriot who's manning the Texans' sideline. In total, five of the Texans' coaches have direct ties to Belichick.
O'Brien, who served as a member of the Patriots' offensive coaching staff from 2008-2011, hired former Belichick minions George Godsey and Romeo Crennel to be his offensive and defensive coordinators. Godsey was a tight ends coach in New England and Crennel was the Patriots' defensive coordinator throughout their dynastic run early last decade. Former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel and defensive lineman Anthony Pleasant are on the coaching staff as well.
Crennel, of course, is the far more experienced of the five. The 68-year-old football lifer coached alongside Belichick under Bill Parcells with the New York Giants in the 1980s before moving to New England to be a part of Parcells' staff in 1993. Unlike O'Brien and Godsey, Belichick isn't Crennel's mentor. They're peers.
But like many former Belichick assistants, Crennel has failed to find success since leaving Patriot Place. He went 24-40 in four seasons as coach of the Browns before becoming the Chiefs' defensive coordinator and later their head coach. The Chiefs went 2-14 under Crennel in 2012 in a tumultuous campaign that took a tragic turn when linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend and himself to death in the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot in early December. Crennel witnessed the incident and tried to talk Belcher out of it to no avail.
Former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who was New England’s vice president of Player Personnel from 2002-2008, fired Crennel at the conclusion of the 2012 season. Four days later, Pioli was ousted as well. The environment in Kansas City had reportedly grown so toxic that team employees, including ex-head coach Todd Haley, believed Pioli had bugged their cellphones.
The situation doesn’t appear to be that bad in Houston, though there have been numerous reports of discontent between O’Brien and general manager Rick Smith. Most notably, the two feuded over whether to cut quarterback Ryan Mallett after he had missed a team flight in late October. The Texans released Mallett Oct. 27.
O’Brien coached Mallett in New England and brought him in to compete another one of Tom Brady’s ex-backups, Brian Hoyer. Hoyer has led the Texans to a 4-3 record as a starter this season, completing 61.2 percent of his passes.
On the defensive side of the football, the prominent ex-Patriot is nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who signed with the Texans in free agency last March. Wilfork, 34, won two Super Bowls in New England and was one of Belichick's stalwarts on the defensive line for over a decade.
“It meant everything to me,” Wilfork said Wednesday about his time with the Patriots, via the Boston Herald. “For an organization to give me my first NFL job and to be there for 11 years, to win a lot of football — play in a lot of tough ball games — win a lot of ball games. I could never forget that, and I never will. New England is always going to be a part of me. That’s like a second home to me.”
At 6-6, the Texans are currently tied atop the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts. Despite starting five different quarterbacks since taking over as head coach, O'Brien has led the Texans to a 15-13 record in nearly two seasons.
If the Texans are going to sneak into the playoffs this year, it will largely be because of J.J. Watt's dominance up front and DeAndre Hopkins' game-breaking ability at wide receiver. But Houston's backbone is comprised of Belichick disciples.
In the past, from Eric Mangini's runs with the Jets and Browns to Josh McDaniels' stint in Denver, that's been a recipe for failure. But it may be what pushes the Texans over the top.
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