We are four weeks into the 2022 NFL regular season, and the Texans are winless. The last time the Texans were winless four games into the season was not all that long ago. It was just two seasons ago, when a murderer's row of early season games fed the Texans an 0-4 start and resulted in the firing of then head coach (and sadly, general manager) Bill O'Brien.

O'Brien has since very much landed on his feet, having spent the last two years in Tuscaloosa coordinating the offense for Nick Saban and the University of Alabama. His quarterback (and possible future Houston Texans quarterback) Bryce Young won the Heisman Trophy in 2021, and is on track to be a top five pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

As a result, Bill O'Brien has put himself in position to land a pretty lucrative college head coaching job in 2023, if that is indeed what he wants to do. Now, before you laugh (because I know Texan fans are laughing), I'll point out that O'Brien's resume is actually a very sellable career record to a college fan base outside of the city of Houston (and, if we're being realistic, let's just say "outside the entire state of Texas").

O'Brien had a long career as a solid collegiate assistant, before moving up to the NFL and eventually coordinating a New England Patriot offense that went to a Super Bowl in 2011. (Yeah, he had Tom Brady. I know.) From there, he did an admirable job of holding Penn State together in 2012 and 2013 in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. In Houston, he won four division titles in six seasons. Finally, past Alabama offensive coordinators have gone onto decent success, most notable Brian Daboll (Giants head coach) and Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss head coach).

So where might O'Brien end up? Well, let's examine the existing openings, because even just a month in, athletics directors have been busy cleaning house. Current vacancies include Arizona State, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, and Colorado. I would cross off the two Pac-12 schools, ASU and Colorado. They don't feel like O'Brien-type jobs. But let's look at the other three and a couple bonus possibilities:

WISCONSIN
To the surprise of many, Wisconsin fired native son Paul Chryst this week, on the heels of a blowout loss to Illinois. When the odds came out this week, O'Brien was listed second on the board at 3 to 1, behind interim head coach and Badger alum Jim Leonhard. O'Brien might be a good fit at Wisconsin, which plays in the much easier half of the Big Ten. It would be interesting to see what would be said if the Badgers' brass asked distinguished alum J.J. Watt for an O'Brien reference.

NEBRASKA
The Nebraska job is probably more rich in tradition than the Wisconsin job, but probably harder to recruit to in 2022. Like Wisconsin, the Cornhuskers' job is in the easier half of the Big Ten. On the odds board for this job, O'Brien sits at fourth overall. I think Nebraska is expecting a more "WOW" hire than O'Brien, but he might be the best they can do.

GEORGIA TECH
O'Brien has shown up on some lists as a possibility for the vacant Georgia Tech job, and it makes sense. Back in the late 90's and early 2000's, O'Brien had success there as George O'Leary's offensive coordinator. He was actually set to follow O'Leary to Notre Dame, until O'Leary's resume was revealed to have some falsehoods resulting in his quick termination. But back to O'Brien — my guess is that, if O'Brien were to take a college job, it would be one higher up the food chain than Tech, but there is a connection there.

Ok, now here are two other bonus possibilities that may come open either imminently or after the season:

AUBURN
The Tigers could fire head coach Bryan Harsin any day now, as Auburn has tumbled to the bottom of the SEC West. I don't think Auburn would go after O'Brien, but his mere presence at arch nemesis Alabama would put his name on the odds board, and wow, what fun that would be to see O'Brien coaching against Nick Sabam in an Iron Bowl game.

PENN STATE
Right now, Penn State head coach James Franklin appears to be safe, as he has the Nittany Lions off to a 5-0 start. However, the heat can turn up any minute, and with Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio State coming up in the next three games, Franklin might be on the hot seat, if Penn State goes, say, 8-4 or 7-5. O'Brien left Penn State after just two seasons for the NFL, but did an admirable job while he was there, and always speaks highly of the school in interviews. Could there be a second act?

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