Linda » The Houston Texans abruptly fired general manager

Brian Gaine on Friday less than 18 months after he took the job.The team announced the move with a statement from team owner Cal McNair Johnathan Abram Jersey , who said only that “while the timing may be unusual, this decision was made in the best interest of the organization in our quest to build a championship team.”Gaine was hired to replace Rick Smith in January 2018 after Smith took a leave of absence to be with his wife while she fought cancer.The Texans went 11-5 in Gaine’s first season in charge after he spent the 2017 as vice president of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills. This stint was his second with the Texans after he worked for them from 2014-16 as director of player personnel.Senior vice president of football administration Chris Olsen will run the team’s football operations while the Texans search for a new general manager.It’s unclear what led to Gaine’s dismissal. Though his first season was a success, Gaine had been criticized for failing to improve the team’s porous offensive line after Deshaun Watson was sacked an NFL-leading 62 times last season.Watson played every game in his second year after having season-ending knee surgery as a rookie Maxx Crosby Jersey , but he was hurt for a good part of the season while dealing with a partially collapsed lung and broken ribs from taking hit after hit.Gaine drafted Alabama State offensive tackle Tytus Howard with the 23rd overall pick in the draft, but some wondered if Howard was the right choice with other more seasoned linemen from bigger schools and more powerful conferences available.Gaine also attempted to beef up the line in free agency but faced criticism there after signing injury-prone left tackle Matt Kalil. A Pro Bowl selection as a rookie in 2012 after the Vikings picked him fourth overall, Kalil missed all of last season with a knee injury and sat out all but two games in 2016 with a hip injury. NEW YORK (AP) — The Jets have agreed to terms with Bilal Powell Foster Moreau Jersey , bringing back the franchise’s 10th-leading rusher after a neck injury cut short his season last year.The 30-year-old Powell worked out for New York on Friday and appears to have proven he is healthy.He had surgery to repair a bulging disk in his neck after he was hurt during a 2-yard run late in the second quarter of New York’s 37-17 loss to Minnesota on Oct. 21. Powell spent the rest of the season on injured reserve and his playing career was uncertain.Powell has 3,446 yards rushing in eight seasons with the Jets, 1 yard behind Adrian Murrell for ninth on the team’s career list. He was drafted in the fourth round out of Louisville in 2011 and has been a dual-threat presence out of the backfield Joey Bosa Jersey , catching 204 passes for 1,567 yards and five touchdowns.Powell joins a crowded Jets backfield that includes Le’Veon Bell, Ty Montgomery Tony Pollard Jersey , Elijah McGuire, Trenton Cannon and De’Angelo Henderson.