The Bill O’Brien era may have gone downhill when the Houston Texans traded two first-round picks and a second-round selection as part of a compensation package to acquire Miami Dolphins left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
The Texans’ top-100 selections were effectively gutted for the 2020 and 2021 drafts — all because O’Brien had influence over the five-man general managing council following the firing of Brian Gaine on June 7, 2019. Senior vice president of football administration Chris Olson may have been the interim general manager, but O’Brien was calling the shots.
However, the downfall of O’Brien’s era as coach may not have been the Tunsil trade. Rather, it may have been the 2019 NFL draft when Gaine was still in control.