Bill O’Brien filled the first of the five NFL head-coaching vacancies. By BenJones88, via Wikimedia Commons

Every sports team has a leader. The success or failure of the team depends on the kind of leadership that is displayed. Most of the time, the head coach is the leader of the team and his or her voice in the locker room can make all the difference on deciding the outcome of a game. Especially in the NFL, a coach can make or break a team.

After each NFL season, the first Monday after the regular season ends is called by lots of media “Black Monday” — a time when teams re-assess their organizations. Many teams that underperformed fire their head coach and start the search for a new leader in the new year. This season is no different as five coaches were fired on “Black Monday.” One of the teams searching for a new head coach has all the pieces already and makes for the best available coaching position.

The Vikings, Texans, Buccaneers, Redskins, and Lions all fired their coaches after struggling during the season. Despite having the worst record in the league this past year, the Texans job is the best available landing spot for any coach. Just a year ago, Houston considered one of the best teams in the NFL and had a chance to make a Super Bowl run. Poor quarterback play and injuries plagued the Texans in 2013 but with the number-one overall pick in the upcoming draft the Texans have all the upside.

Led by Arian Foster and Andre Johnson on offense, the Texans still have two of the scariest and best offensive weapons in the NFL. On the defensive side of the ball, the Texans will still feature All Pro J.J. Watt, Brian Cushing and Kareem Jackson. All the Texans need is a quarterback and with the 1^st overall pick, I expect them to take one. The Texans didn’t waste much time finding a new coach, hiring Penn State coach Bill O’Brien. The NFL is a league where teams can turn things around quickly. The fact that the Texans found a coach so quickly tells me that they believed that all they really needed was a new voice in the locker room to bring them back to being a contender.

Players like Gregg Jennings, Andre Johnson, Roddy White, and Steve Johnson are changing the way the wide receiver position is being played. While divas like Chad Ochocinco still get some of the headlines, Calvin Johnson, a.k.a. Megatron, has become the best receiver in the league.

Remember when Michael Irvin used to point for the first down after a big catch? It seemed kind of cool then. Now, Terrell Owens has become but a vague memory and Randy Moss is all but forgotten.

For years, the “cool” thing for wide receivers to do was to run their collective mouths. Pointing for first downs, Sharpies in socks, cell phones hidden in padding, and “look-at-me” personalities dominated the landscape.

Maybe they were the minority then and got attention because their bite matched their bark. Perhaps the media payed more attention to the divas during the past 5-10 years because the divas demanded it.

Whatever the reason, it seems that the league is becoming a place where it’s OK for a wide receiver to keep his mouth shut.

Like Calvin Johnson says here: he’s the quietest guy on the team.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbQfOpwFQmA

Sometimes we still see divas in the league, but more respect seems to be going toward quiet or tough guys in today’s NFL. That’s a change, I think, we can all get behind.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBT6MygnKKw