Here's the text of Diana Russini from ESPN's NFL Live, speaking with Suzy Kolber and Ian Rappaport about the Hopkins debacle:
"I've been texting with a lot of Deandre Hopkins' now former teammates about their reaction to it, and they can't believe it. I actually had one assistant coach say if it wasn't for this coronavirus situation, I swear the fans here in Houston would be showing up to this facility to knock on the doors, to talk to head coach Bill O'Brien and find out what is going on."
"I've covered the Houston Texans for many games this past season, I had the opportunity to work the sideline for ESPN radio... And oftentimes, late in games, specifically in the 3rd or 4th quarter, is when you started to see the frustration between Deandre Hopkins and their play caller, Bill O'Brien. And we've all covered enough football to know the difference between a wide receiver being frustrated with their head coach in just the normal way that players and coaches kind of get into it, and then this was just different... But it was very, very clear that there was a problem between head coach Bill O'Brien and Deandre Hopkins, and it seemed that this relationship at this point probably needed to move on and they needed a change, both Bill O'Brien and Deandre Hopkins."
Source:
This proves it wasn't about the contract. It was O'Brien's inadequate play calling and the resulting personality conflict. This inflexible mediocrity is why Houston just lost one of the greatest athletes in the history of the city.
Mediocrity won. Houston lost.
But Mike Devlin is still a member of O'Brien's staff, so at least we didn't let
that generational talent slip through our fingers.
What's going to be interesting is watching O'Brien navigate this unexpected player-favoritism
grudge with the fans that he predicted about as well as the Chiefs' punt defense. If the fans got to vote which man to ship out of town, which one do you think it would've been?
"Do your job!" O'Brien's role model always says. After six years of watching Hopkins and O'Brien, we know which one did his. He's the one no longer in Houston.
Two silver linings here:
1) I always said the talent of our elite players keeps bailing out O'Brien. Well now we have less talent to bail him out.
2) Hopkins was the sacrifice to the football gods that has ended all sympathy for Bill O'Brien. His sacrifice will finally free us.