Bill O’Brien, Head Coach of the Houston Texans, graduated from Brown in 1993, where he played defensive end and linebacker. He coached at Brown for the two years after graduation, then at Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke before joining the coaching staff of the New England Patriots in 2007. He became Offensive Coordinator of the Patriots, then was appointed Head Coach of Penn State in 2012, where he was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. He subsequently was named National Coach of the Year by ESPN, and then won the Bear Bryant College Coach of the Year Award. He has been Head Coach of the Texans since 2014, taking his team to the playoffs in his second season.