Deshaun Watson Makes History, Again

Houston Texans and former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson will make franchise history Sunday with interim head coach Romeo Crennel.

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson will make history Sunday when the winless Houston Texans (0-4) host Jacksonville (1-3) at 1 p.m. 

With the dismissal of head coach Bill O'Brien on Monday, Romeo Crennel will assume interim coaching duties as the organization moves forward with a new coaching search. The duo will make for the first African American head coach-QB tandem in Houston Texans history. 

Crennel joined the Texans staff in 2014 and has severed as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. He was previously the head coach for Cleveland (2005-2008) and Kansas City (2012). 

When informed of the historic start this weekend Watson, who released his first book this summer, was taken back. 

“I didn’t even know that,” Watson said in a press conference on Wednesday. “That’s pretty dope. That’s pretty cool. History is going to continue to grow, especially with the times going on right now.”

I asked Deshaun Watson what will it mean to him and Romeo Crennel to become the first black QB/head coach combo in franchise history on Sunday:

"That's pretty cool. History is going to continue to grow, especially with the times going on right now." #Texans pic.twitter.com/pkncHLWwQC

— Coty M. Davis (@CotyDavis_24) October 7, 2020

While it is a special moment for both Watson and Crennel, it is a larger moment for the NFL which has been under scrutiny over the last several years for the lack of African American head coaches.  

Houston recently secured a contract extension with Watson but let go of DeAndre Hopkins in the offseason for David Johnson and two draft picks. 

Starting the season off 0-4 was not on the Texans' offseason checklist and the issues won't be corrected overnight, but that's not the goal. Houston's new head coach-quarterback duo just wants to get things back on track with a win on Sunday. 

“Me and RAC, what we want to do is make sure that this team and locker room is ready and focused to go win on Sunday,” Watson said. “We got to make sure that we’re prepared. We got to make sure that we put sure we put in the work throughout the week, make sure we’re healthy, and we got to expect to go out there and win. And that’s the mentality that we got to have for, not just this locker room and for this team, but this organization, for this city.”

A change at the top could be just what the doctor ordered to build up the team's confidence moving forward. 

“The next 12 weeks, 13 weeks, we got to be positive and we got to continue to grow and we got to continue to stick as one as a city, as a whole, as an organization,” Watson said. “That’s what I preach, and that’s what we’ve both been preaching.”