Officially, the Houston Texans have three coaches teaching the cornerbacks — defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, secondary coach Anthony Midget and assistant secondary coach D’Anton Lynn. Unofficially, there are four.
Cornerback Johnathan Joseph, 35, acts as a pseudo coach for the Texans’ young cornerback group, which includes Gareon Conley, 24, Vernon Hargreaves, 24, and Lonnie Johnson, 22.
“It’s good,” said Crennel on having Joseph in the room for young cornerbacks. It’s like having a coach in the locker room that when I’m upstairs watching videotape, he’s downstairs talking to them about technique and about his study habits and the things he looks for and looks at, and that helps those guys because you have a peer who’s done it a long time and knows what he’s talking about.”
Though not a household name outside of Houston, Joseph is one of the game’s most respected cornerbacks. In year 14 of his historically great career, he remains a starter in the Texans’ secondary.
On Sunday, in a 28-22 win over the New England Patriots, Joseph became the NFL’s all-time leader in career games with multiple pass deflections (50), surpassing Ronde Barber and Champ Bailey.
When Joseph talks, his teammates listen.
“He’s trying to help you and so they pay attention — sometimes more than they pay attention to me,” said Crennel.
At 35 years old, Joseph’s career could be coming to an end soon. His contract expires at the end of the 2019 campaign. However, his impact on the Texans goes further than on the playing field. Those younger cornerbacks will have learned something by the time he calls it quits.
Perhaps, when Joseph does decide to hang up his cleats, he will find himself on a coaching staff. The Texans are not opposed to hiring some of their former roster members, including Joseph’s former teammates Andre Johnson, T.J. Yates, Brian Cushing and Akeem Dent.