The Texans GM job is again vacant. The team announced Friday Brian Gaine will no longer serve in that capacity. Gaine began running Houston’s front office in January 2018.
Gaine signed a five-year contract with the Texans, so to see them move on at this juncture — and after the 2018 team compiled the second-most wins in franchise history — is stunning. Senior VP of football administration Chris Olsen will take over in the interim. The Texans went 11-5 and won the AFC South in 2018. They will now join the Jets in conducting a mid-offseason GM search, potentially set to meet with some of the same candidates.
Despite the short duration of Gaine’s tenure, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets no one incident is believed to have prompted this.
Prior to Gaine’s hiring, the Texans dealt with frequent friction in their front office. Reports of Rick Smith, who stepped away after the 2017 season to tend to his ailing wife, and Bill O’Brien butting heads emerged often. O’Brien signed a five-year deal when Gaine was hired and was believed to have a close relationship with him. O’Brien served on the search committee that produced the Gaine hire.
Prior to a 2017 stay in Buffalo as Bills player personnel director, Gaine spent three years with the Texans. Smith promoted from director of pro personnel to director of player personnel in 2015, but he left to take a job under Brandon Beane. Considering Smith received 12 years Texans GM — his first five seasons ending shy of the playoffs — this decision figures to have considerable fallout.
Gaine only oversaw two drafts as Houston’s top front office bastion, and thanks to Texans trades in 2017, the first did not involve first- or second-round picks. This year, Gaine used the Texans’ first-rounder on small-school tackle prospect Tytus Howard. This came after Deshaun Watson was sacked 62 times in 2018 — the most any quarterback has been dropped in a season since Jon Kitna in 2006.
Last year, the Texans sought interviews with seven candidates but ended up meeting with just two — Gaine and assistant GM Jimmy Raye III. Among those on Houston’s 2018 list: Joe Douglas, who is currently the favorite to become the next Jets GM. The Eagles denied the Texans permission to speak with Douglas last year, and the Patriots exercised the same action regarding execs Nick Caserio and Monti Ossenfort.
Before Smith vacated this post last year, the Texans had not had a GM vacancy since the Charley Casserly-to-Smith changeover in 2006.
Hey Brian! The Texas Workforce Commission has excellent resources to help you find another job…..
No Gaine No Pain.
The timing of this is really, really odd.
I don’t see a grassy knoll conspiracy working that well in Houston.
I’m guessing they waited for him to sign Warring, his last draft pick. Which IMO, this draft is probably what did it for him. Free agency was a bust with all the cap space but there’s questions about this draft class.
O’Brien allowed to through his weight around. Fired the wrong guy
‘Through’? The use of that word threw me.
Did it though you threw a wall?
Misspellings and incorrect words are getting throne around left and right!
Your wright about that!
LOL
Lol. I can’t believe it autocorrected through to though (I do know the difference). That’s what I get for trying to be a jackass
Oh my gosh. The sky is falling. How can you get rid of your GM now?? The end is here!!!! Same deal as the Jets. Coach and GM not on the same page so their looking for someone that can work better with O’Brian. I predict that they’ll survive.
Power grab by O’Brien
I like O’Brien but this isn’t how it should go.
But yet the jets are poorly run
As a Jets fan, this makes me feel a little better about the timing of Maccagnan being fired. On the other hand, now the Jets will have competition for a new GM so there’s that