Bill O’Brien giddy to have Vince Wilfork on Texans

PHOENIX — Talking with Houston coach Bill O’Brien yesterday, you almost got the feeling he had won the lottery.

The topic was Vince Wilfork, a player he considers a significant free agent pickup for the Texans. In fact, one Houston paper referred to Wilfork as the “most important free agent in franchise history.”

Usually, when coaches acquire players, there’s a bit of uncertainty. They might know the player from what they’ve seen on tape, what they’ve had to face on the field or what they’ve heard. But they really don’t know what they’re going to get. Not completely.

In this case, there’s no mystery. Having been a coach with the Patriots, O’Brien knows what Wilfork brings to the football field, in the locker room and in meeting rooms. He also knows what Wilfork is going to bring to the community, which is something else New England is going to miss about No. 75.

That’s why O’Brien’s face lit up at the mention of Wilfork’s name. He knows first-hand the Texans have gotten someone pretty special and are going to reap the benefits, even if Big Vince is on the back nine of his career.

“I’m very aware of what he meant to the Patriots and what he meant to the community in Massachusetts and Boston,” O’Brien said from the Biltmore Hotel, site of the league meetings. “We’re thrilled to have him. With his experience, his playing ability, his leadership and his knowledge of the defense, he just brings a lot to the table for us that’s going to help our team and help our younger players.”

Specifically, Wilfork is the perfect mentor for Louis Nix, the 6-foot-2, 342-pound defensive tackle out of Notre Dame who was the Texans’ third-round draft pick in 2014. Nix, whose stock dipped considerably after undergoing knee surgery just before the draft, spent last season on injured reserve.

But beyond providing much-needed guidance for the younger players, O’Brien also believes Wilfork, with plenty of experience in the two-gap, 3-4 scheme the Texans employ with defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, can also share his wisdom with J.J. Watt. The two already have spoken several times about the prospects of being teammates and linemates.

“They’re both very excited about having the opportunity to line up next to each other,” O’Brien said. “Vince, I know, has a ton of respect for J.J., and it’s the same from J.J. to Vince.

“I think it’ll be a great experience for J.J. to have a guy who’s been in the system for a long, long time, similar to what we’re doing in Houston, so he’ll be able to bounce questions off him.”

O’Brien said he was pleasantly surprised to see Wilfork available in free agency. Even at age 33, O’Brien believes Big Vince has enough left to help his defense, which was 16th-best in the league last season.

The coach knew he would have a bit of an advantage in the Wilfork pursuit, given the lineman’s familiarity with several members of O’Brien’s coaching staff (Crennel, Mike Vrabel, George Godsey).

“When he comes into our building, he sees a lot of the guys who were there during his time in New England. He knows there’s a similar philosophy in Houston,” O’Brien said. “I’m not going to speak for him, but he’s told me he’s very excited about the opportunity.”

O’Brien also indicated knowing Wilfork outside the realm of football, knowing about all of his charitable work, was helpful during recruitment. Houston not only got better on the field but off the field by signing Wilfork to a two-year, $9 million deal.

“Vince did so much for the Boston community. I know he and his wife are really looking forward to doing the same thing in Houston, helping kids and helping people that are underprivileged,” O’Brien said.

“Everything he does, it’s so much more than just being a football player.”

Former Pats linebacker Andre Tippett echoed O’Brien’s remarks last week from Foxboro. He summed up what the area was losing, and what Houston was now gaining.

“You always tell a player when they come in to find somebody to emulate that does it the right way. Vince has been that guy from Day 1,” said Tippett, the Patriots executive director of community affairs.

“He first established himself as a player. After that, he took it a step further, establishing himself in the community as a giver. Not many guys are built that way. A lot of guys see it and want to do it and want to talk about it, but I think he and Bianca, they both put their money where their mouth was. And they weren’t looking for a lot of attention and fanfare. They really do it from the heart.”

O’Brien knows the Wilfork résumé on all fronts. He experienced it up close and personal. That’s why he was beaming yesterday.


(boston.com)