Gerald Hanks
No one old is out, but there is some new with Houston Texans, who reportedly made their move on a new general manager earlier this week, while standing strong with their head coach:
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According to a press release, Texans officials hired Brian Gaine to replace Rick Smith in the GM role, currently on a leave of absence from the team to care for his wife, who is receiving treatment for breast cancer in Arizona.
Gaine comes to Houston as a former director of player personnel under Smith between 2014 to 2016; he took the same position with the Buffalo Bills in May 2017, a franchise which reached the playoffs for the first time since 1999 this season under his direction.
New #Texans General Manager Brian Gaine brings 19 years of personnel experience and has helped guide each team he's been with to the postseason, including the #Texans' back-to-back AFC South titles in 2015 and 2016. pic.twitter.com/BeIkZozst5
— Houston Texans PR (@TexansPR) January 13, 2018
“Brian is an incredibly smart, hardworking individual that understands the importance of good communication,” Texans owner Bob McNair provided in his statement announcing the hire. “We couldn’t be more excited about naming him our new general manager.”
RELATED: Houston Texans GM to Take Immediate Leave of Absence
The team also announced it worked out a contract extension for head coach Bill O’Brien; without an extension, his contract would potentially be ending after the 2018 season.
An extension, combined with Gaine’s hire, reportedly means the team is expected to maintain the same head coach-general manager tandem through the 2022 season:
“Bill O’Brien has been a tremendous leader for us these last four years and we believe in his vision for the team moving forward,” McNair provided further. “Bill is a terrific teacher that the players respect. We have a lot of trust in him to build a unified, championship culture and we’re thrilled to have him as our head coach into the future.”
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Under O’Brien’s administration, the Texans went 4-12 in the 2017 season, losing several of its top players for the season to injury, including quarterback Deshaun Watson, linebacker Whitney Mercilus and defensive lineman J.J. Watt.
Perhaps there’s nowhere to go but up! See you for next year’s parade, Bulls.
