A fortunate break came to the Houston Texans. They needed a head coach, and a well-known teammate was one of the best candidates this cycle.
This season might have had better openings for head coaches, but DeMeco Ryans and the Texans fit the bill.
Ryans, the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator, was hired by the Texans as their new head coach. From 2006 to 2011, Ryans was a great linebacker for the Texans, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year and being selected to two Pro Bowls.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the coach signed a six-year contract with the team on Tuesday.
The difficult task of turning around one of the NFL’s worst teams now falls on a key player from the team’s past.
The position probably wouldn’t have been very appealing to a hot coaching candidate who didn’t have any ties to the Texans.
If you include Romeo Crennel’s twelve-game stint as interim coach in 2020, Ryans will be the team’s fifth coach in four seasons. After one season, the Texans fired David Culley. After one season, they fired Lovie Smith.
It’s likely that Ryans will get more than one season. As the team is at its lowest point, he takes over. The last three seasons have seen the Texans go 11-38-1. They have a few young stars to build around despite their poor record. The quarterback position must be determined first. Houston is likely to select a quarterback with the second overall pick in the draft.
The Texans’ position offers a low bar for success, which is a positive aspect. With the right moves, any NFL team can turn things around in a few years. If he can bring the Texans out of a bad time, Ryans could become a legend with the team, first for his work on the field and then as head coach.
After being traded by the Texans, Ryans spent four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring after the 2015 season. He rose to prominence in the coaching industry quickly.
After working for the 49ers for one season as a defensive quality control coach, Ryans was promoted to inside linebackers coach. Ryans became the defensive coordinator when Robert Saleh left the 49ers to become the head coach of the New York Jets. He led the defense for two fantastic seasons. In 2021, the 49ers were third in the NFL in yards allowed, and this past season, they were first in points allowed and yards allowed.
Ryans was one of the hottest names in coaching when he was just 38 years old. After being rejected by a number of big names, it was reported that the Denver Broncos had moved Ryans to the top of their list, but Ryans apparently preferred Houston. In a quote that the Texans released, he said that the new position was his dream job:
“My family is thrilled to be back in H-Town, and my dream job is to be the head coach of the Houston Texans. I’ve been around football my whole life, and I’ve always had a natural ability to lead other people. I know how much I owe this organization and the Houston fans to build a winning team, and I can’t wait to get started.”
The position of head coach at Houston is not an easy one, especially for a first-timer. The Texans are losing more and more, but at least they have a new coach for which they can be excited
