This might be Bill O'Brien's first rodeo as an NFL head coach but at least he's been in the hot seat before at the collegiate level. To make matters easier, he hired Romeo Crennel, who has three Super Bowl rings as a defensive coordinator and two stints as a head coach. Crennel is here to lead the defense but it's always nice to have someone in the building to lean on regarding NFL coaching matters.
Mike Vrabel will coach linebackers after being in charge of the defensive line at Ohio State. Just a little over three years ago, he caught a touchdown pass in this stadium while playing for Kansas City under Crennel.
George Godsey takes the quarterbacks coach's post after mentoring tight ends in New England. He played quarterback at Georgia Tech under George O'Leary and O'Brien.
O'Brien will lead the offense but Godsey, as QB coach, will get on the job training to someday be an
OC. Once upon a time, former Texans tight end coach Greg Roman was upgraded to become QB coach. He's now one of the hottest offensive coordinators in football in San Francisco.
Craig Fitzgerald is currently revamping the Houston weight room as Strength and Conditioning coach. He was at Penn State with O'Brien and South Carolina before that. He was also at Harvard when a young basketball player walked through the door wanting to build onto his then-170 pound frame. His name is Jeremy Lin. It's a small world. Fitzgerald will undoubtedly reconnect with his former pupil soon.
NFL assistants are usually hard at work this time of year evaluating the roster, the season that was, prospective free agents and draft choices. But this staff has extra work getting to know the players currently on the roster. Some very tough decisions are going to be made over the next two months before we even hit the draft. Then there's the small detail of deciding who's worth the number pick. The drama never ends.
