Bill O’Brien denies rift with Brock Osweiler

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien denied that there was any rift with quarterback Brock Osweiler, calling a recent report of a shouting match the “biggest non-story of the year.”

O’Brien said any clash with Osweiler is normal and a result of the intensity of the NFL coaching environment.

“Anybody that’s been around me knows that I really only know one way to go about it,” O’Brien said Monday, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN. “That’s to work very hard and to do it in a very intense environment. I think that’s the type of players we have. So when you’re coaching football and playing football, and you’re in a competitive environment where everyone is pulling the same rope and everybody is trying to do their very best to win the game, things are going to happen.”

O’Brien added that he and Osweiler are simply forging a working relationship.

“I think you really have to get to know the quarterback to understand what he likes, what he’s comfortable with, and also for that quarterback to understand your style, how you do things,” O’Brien said. “And sometimes that takes awhile.

“What we know about Brock is that he’s a very hard-working guy. A very prepared guy. And we enjoy coaching him. He’s learning and we just were happy to see him be able to help us win that game last night.”

It was reported that playcalling was the topic of the shouting match, but maybe it is normal, or at least not as bad as reported. Of course, the Texans staged a dramatic comeback win in overtime Sunday night. These things tend to be easier to dismiss when that happens.