Houston Texans: Best candidates to take over as head coach after firing Bill O’Brien

9. Dabo Swinney, Clemson head coach

Granted, Dabo Swinney was the collegiate head coach of Deshaun Watson while at Clemson, and together they had great success in winning a national championship, but would that magic be able to return in the NFL?

If there is one coach who could get the very best out of Watson it could be Swinney, but their partnership wasn’t at the highest level in all of football, plus who is to say Swinney’s style of coaching would even work in the NFL. Also, does he even want to leave Clemson?

This is a long shot candidate to happen for the Texans, but Swinney did turn around the Clemson program, and has them ultra competitive every season. Another question is would the Houston Texans even want to go the route of having a college head coach run their team again?

8. Kris Richard, former Seahawks defensive coordinator

Though Kris Richard isn’t that busy at the moment, he’s had success in the NFL as a defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks, and he even worked with Rod Marinelli when he was a part of the Dallas Cowboys defensive coaching staff for two seasons.

Just a couple years ago Richard was a candidate to become a head coach in the league, and seeing how the Texans rush defense has struggled greatly this season, maybe Richard’s knowledge of being a former DC could help Anthony Weaver in repairing the defense of Houston as Weaver continues his path in the coaching ranks as well. Richard is a coach worth looking into for the Texans if they want to go the route of a defensive-minded head coach.