The Houston Texans officially clinched their first double-digit win season in six years on Saturday, when they defeated the New York Jets to pick up their 10th victory on the 2018 campaign.
It also marked the fourth winning season for Texans head coach Bill O'Brien, who is now in his fifth year on the job. As pointed out by the team's public relations department, O'Brien is now in special company.
Among active head coaches, only Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), and John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens), have more winning seasons in their first five seasons as head coach, with five apiece.
O'Brien went 9-7 in each of his first three seasons with the Texans, leading them to AFC South division titles in 2015 and 2016. But when quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his ACL mid-season last year, the Texans faltered and finished with a putrid 4-12 record.
Watson has been healthy in 2018, and O'Brien has the Texans headed back to the postseason. They need just one victory to clinch the AFC South, and a pair of wins will clinch Houston a first-round bye for the first time in franchise history.
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O'Brien joined the New England Patriots in 2007 and became their offensive coordinator for the 2011 season. He then took the Penn State head coaching gig in 2012, and he'd stay there for two years before joining the Texans in 2014.
What This Means
The 49-year-old O'Brien has led Houston to its greatest stretch run in franchise history. Prior to him joining the team in 2014, the Texans had only made the playoffs twice. They're about to get there for a third time under O'Brien.
There were talks about the Texans firing O'Brien after a miserable 2017 season, but the front office made the right decision to reward him with a four-year extension back in January.
Now, it's up to O'Brien to lead the Texans to their first Super Bowl championship appearance. This is arguably the best group the team has ever had, now they have to go out there and finish it.