HOUSTON – J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson broke their silence after Monday’s firing of head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien.
The Texans' top two superstars shared they held no ill will toward their former coach.
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Here are three interesting things they said on Wednesday:
Watt wants the fans back on board
“One of the things, I’m excited about right now is hopefully getting on the same page with our fan base again. I feel like that is something where there has certainly been a bit of a tension there in the last months and years. I can’t wait to have us all pulling in the same direction again. I feel like there’s been a bit of a disconnect there.
It’s not fun as a player to be a part of that when you feel like your fans can’t fully back you the way that they want to. I really am so excited because I’ve been here in some of the best times we’ve ever had. There’s nothing better than when this city is all on the same page and pulling for the Houston Texans, and I can’t wait to have that feeling again because it truly is a blast. I’m really looking forward to that.”
Watson thanks O’Brien for getting him ready
“I have the utmost respect for Coach O’Brien for getting me to Houston, teaching me what he’s taught me the four years I’ve been here. The discipline, just everything as a person. Getting ready for professional football. He did a lot of amazing things to help me get two Pro Bowls and win the AFC South every year that I’ve played a full year. I have all the respect for him and the things but the business – that’s just how the business goes. For me as a young player, I’m learning that and just going with the flow. That’s just how it’s been.”
Watt wants a fresh start
“I think that we want our guys to play loose and free and have fun and enjoy it and trust in each other, and feel like they can go out there and be who they are and play the game the way they know how to play it. I’m looking forward to seeing that. I thought we had a great practice today. I thought guys had good energy. I thought guys were doing their job, communicating really well. That’s what we’re looking for. Personally, for me on defense, we have to do our job very well, but we also have to fly around and make plays. At the end of the day, this league comes down to making plays. We’ve got to go out there and make those plays.”
