Coach Bill O’Brien met with the media Monday morning at NRG Stadium to explain the Houston Texans’ flurry of trades on Aug. 31 as the club finalized its 53-man roster. But he wasn’t meeting them as the coach, but also as the envoy of the five-man committee that is taking care of the general manager duties since the firing of Brian Gaine on June 7.

The Texans’ first move was to trade three-time Pro Bowl edge defender Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks for linebackers Barkevious Mingo and Jacob Martin, along with a 2020 third-round pick.

Houston’s second move was to deal offensive guard Martinas Rankin, a 2018 third-round pick from Mississippi State, to the Kansas City Chiefs for running back help in Carlos Hyde.

The Texans’ final move was trading a raft of draft picks that included their 2020 first-round pick, their 2021 first-round pick, and a 2021 second-round pick along with tackle Julién Davenport and cornerback Johnson Bademosi to the Miami Dolphins for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, receiver Kenny Stills, a 2020 fourth-round draft pick, and a 2021 sixth-round draft choice.

Though senior vice president of football administration Chris Olsen may have the interim general manager title, he wasn’t the one making those decisions. In fact, it may not have been a general manager at all.

“Look, there’s 32 teams and most teams have a GM,” O’Brien said. “I understand, I really do, but the fact that we have a team of people is just something that maybe people will have to get used to.”

The team includes Olsen, director of player personnel Matt Bazirgan, director of college scouting James Lipfert, director of pro personnel Rob Kisiel, and executive vice president of team development in Jack Easterby.

“We have a team of really bright people that work very well together,” O’Brien said.

The three-time AFC South-winning coach emphasized that there is consensus building between the personnel and their staffs, not just decisions being made solely by one party.

Said O’Brien: “I’m not sitting in an office by myself, Chris Olsen is not sitting in an office by himself, Jack Easterby is not sitting in an office by himself, Matt Bazirgan is not sitting in an office by himself. We’re in a room and we’re debating, we’re talking. We’ve been doing it for a long time over many different things, whether it’s how to set the weight room up, or how to set the cafeteria up, or the locker room, or some of the things that went on yesterday.”

Through the assembly of the 53-man roster, O’Brien likes how the group has performed.

“We feel like we’ve made really good decisions and had good communication and did the best that we could to improve the team,” said O’Brien.

If the Texans don’t hire another general manager in name, they won’t be alone in the NFL. Currently, there are three other teams without a general manager or a member of ownership or coaching doubling up as general manager. The Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys have owners Mike Brown and Jerry Jones as general managers respectively, and the New England Patriots have coach Bill Belichick as the de facto general manager.

If O’Brien is able to win bigly with the general manager committee, especially if he has influence over personnel decisions, then that could be the new status quo for the Texans front office.