Texans head coach wanted to cut Ryan Mallett; Their GM said “No”
Ryan Mallett missed his flight this week and it was the second time this year Mallett made the team look like a fool. His head coach wanted to cut him. But his decision was overruled.
O’Brien wanted – and tried – to cut Mallett before the Texans ever took the field during a 44-26 blowout defeat to the Dolphins, said sources with direct knowledge of the situation who weren’t authorized to speak publicly. But the second-year leader – partly hired by owner Bob McNair for his fierce personality and high standards of personal accountability – was overruled by longtime general manager Rick Smith.
O’Brien lost the personnel battle before his team was again humiliated, via a 41-0 halftime deficit to Miami. Smith won the front-office decision that preceded the emasculating embarrassment at Sun Life Stadium. And the increasingly divided Texans already have a power conflict at the top tier of the organization, less than two years after O’Brien was supposed to lift the franchise up from the darkness of 2-14 in 2013.
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