Was Bill O’Brien losing Texans’ locker room before firing?

A clear narrative is emerging after the Houston Texans’ firing of Bill O’Brien, and that is simply that the players had lost faith in him.

ESPN’s Dianna Russini quoted an anonymous Texans player as saying there was “relief” among the team after O’Brien was fired on Monday.

“There’s actually a feeling of relief in Houston,” the player told Russini. “Not that O’Brien is not a great guy, he was losing our trust and confidence…maybe even lost all of it.”

There’s a good amount of evidence to back up what the player is saying. Texans players reportedly confronted O’Brien over his plans to bring in safety Earl Thomas, which is never a great sign. It was also made fairly clear that O’Brien’s decision to trade star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was at least partly due to the fact that they didn’t see eye-to-eye.

O’Brien’s Texans started 0-4, but they played the likes of the Chiefs, Ravens, and Steelers, a very unforgiving start. From that perspective, O’Brien’s firing seems like a surprise. If he was losing the locker room, it’s far more understandable why ownership acted now.