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Houston Texans Should’ve Stayed With Brian Hoyer

By Erik Lambert

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Oct 8, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer (7) walks off the field after throwing an interception during the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium. The Colts defeated the Texans 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The worst mistake head coach Bill O’Brien made this year wasn’t any free agent signing or draft pick or play call.  That’s not the reason his Houston Texans looks like a team that is completely lost.  This after an off-season filled with promise and expectations.  No, his big mistake was one other coaches have made but failed to pass on the lessons for.

He started quarterback Brian Hoyer, and then failed to stick with him.

Nothing better encapsulated the situation for Houston than what transpired Thursday night against the Colts.  It was a grand opportunity.  The Texans were at home, Andrew Luck was out with injury and backup Matt Hasselbeck was weakened by a virus.  Conventional wisdom said Houston should win that game and win it big if they played like they should.

Instead they showed to the entire world how dysfunctional and indecisive they are when O’Brien refused to allow Ryan Mallett back into the game after he sat out a play following an illegal hit from a Colts defender.  Hoyer went in, ran a play and should’ve come back out.  Instead O’Brien kept him in and a despondent Mallett couldn’t believe it.

Yes, Hoyer played well for most of that game and Mallett should exhibit a better attitude but the fact remains that the Texans created this carnival atmosphere themselves.  O’Brien made the decision to go with Hoyer in the preseason.  After just one game he changed his mind and went with Mallett instead.  Now he’s back to Hoyer again.  Throughout history it’s never a good sign when the head coach can’t make a decision and stick by it.

Quarterback controversies are nice for the newspapers, but they can absolutely divide and destroy a locker room.  Never throughout NFL history has flip-flopping between two quarterbacks resulted in good things.  Now the Texans are 1-4 and all but dead in the NFC South race before the season is even half over.

Blame will be thrown everywhere for that, but it starts at the top with the head coach, who for better or worse should’ve stuck by his original decision to keep Hoyer in place.  Instead he clouded everything by giving Mallett hope, and then swiping it away again.  It’s not easy for any player to have a positive attitude after something like that, and could make other players wonder if O’Brien can handle the pressures of the job as the expectations grow.

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