That's why individual images were erased from the interiors of NRG Stadium. That's why the Segways disappeared and at times me-first players such as Ed Reed, Ben Tate and Antonio Smith became buried in a 2013 season that O'Brien has turned into a boundary marker.
The old Texans ended there. The new Texans begin here.
"He gets the message across that everything he does, everything he tells us, is with the intent to win. We've all bought in to that," said Brown, a locker-room and on-field leader. "But he also has a great relationship with the players. He talks to us all as young men and he's very one-on-one, and I like that about him."