Romeo Crennel could be back in the league after not coaching in 2013. (USATSI)

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As one of the last acts of 2013, news broke on New Year's Eve that the Texans would hire Bill O'Brien as their next head coach, almost as if to get a fresh start in 2014 after a forgettable 2-14 season.

And according to FOXSports.com's Alex Marvez, O'Brien, who was Patriots quarterbacks coach before a two-year stint at Penn State, will turn to another former New England assistant to serve as his defensive coordinator: Romeo Crennel.

Additionally, O'Brien has fired all the assistants from Gary Kubiak's staff -- including interim coach Wade Phillips, who tweeted his goodbyes Saturday -- and the expectation is that his staff will have a "heavy Patriots feel" to it.

Crennel was out of the NFL in 2013 after serving as Chiefs coach in 2010 (taking over for Todd Haley midway through the season) before he was fired following the 2012 season. Before that, Crennel was Browns coach from 2005-08, and he served as Bill Belichick's defensive coordinator in New England from 2001-04. Crennel's first NFL job came with Bill Parcells' Giants -- Belichick was also on that staff -- where he served as a special teams coach and a defensive line coach from 1981-92.

Meanwhile, as for O'Brien's staff, Marvez reports that Patriots tight ends coach George Godsey could be a candidate for the Texans offensive coordinator job, and that Brian Ferentz, currently at the University of Iowa, is a "strong candidate" to be the Texans' offensive line coach.