HOUSTON -- Texans coach Bill O'Brien opened his news conference Wednesday saying he and general manager Rick Smith have a partnership and that all decisions about the team are made together.
"Rick Smith and I both have respect for each other," O'Brien said. "We work together every day. We communicate every day. It's a partnership. Decisions are made by two of us. Obviously they require the concurrence of the owner, Bob McNair. When it comes to personnel, coaching and playing, it's a partnership. That's how it works around here."
O'Brien was reacting to a report that he and general manager Rick Smith had a confrontation about releasing former quarterback Ryan Mallett on Saturday after he was late to meetings and missed the team's charter flight to Florida, and that there was a rift between the two top figures in the organization.