The Texans will have a new play caller this season.
Sort of.
Bill O'Brien has handed over play-calling duties to his newly named offensive coordinator George Godsey. Last year, as quarterbacks coach, Godsey was on the sideline calling plays but he still shared those duties with O'Brien.
"I think what we did last year was we worked as team, he and I," O'Brien said on June 12. "I think now he is ready to call the plays. He is ready to put the game plan in. He is ready to go out there on game day and call the plays. I will be very involved with the play calling. There will not be a play call made that I don't approve of. Just understand that, but also at the end of the day, he's going to call the plays and I have all the confidence in the world that he'll do a good job."
All three quarterbacks, Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer, and Tom Savage, have worked with Godsey.
"I love George," Mallett said. "George taught me the offense in New England. He's a special offensive mind in my book. He's got a lot of different things that he does. It sets us up for success. We just have to execute his game plan."
Godsey's familiarity with the position goes back to his playing days. At Georgia Tech (1998-01), Godsey set the set the school record for career completion percentage (63.3) and ranks second in career passing efficiency rating (143.64). Godsey later went on to play one season in the Arena Football League with the Tampa Bay Storm and was part of the 2003 team that won the Arena Bowl title.
Hoyer, who signed as a free agent this spring, has worked with a number of offensive coordinators during his six-year career with New England, Pittsburgh, Arizona, and Cleveland. Hoyer developed a rapport with Godsey when he was tight ends coach in New England and likes having a former quarterback as play caller.
"Someone who's been back there when 11 guys are coming at you, they know what it's like to be in the fire," Hoyer said. "I think they relate a little bit better than someone who maybe sits back and watches it on film or out on the field."
The Texans head coach has a 17-year history with his offensive coordinator. O'Brien and Godsey first met at Georgia Tech, where O'Brien served as running backs coach in 1998 and eventually the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2001. Godsey began his coaching career at the University of Central Florida in 2004 as a graduate assistant. He coached under George O'Leary, who also coached with O'Brien at Georgia Tech from 1995-01. The two reunited again seven years later when O'Brien brought Godsey to New England as an offensive assistant in 2011.
"He's a bright guy," O'Brien said. "He's a good communicator. He's a fast thinker. He's a riser in this profession. He's a good football coach and he works extremely hard at it. He is ready to do it."
