The COVID-19 pandemic has most everyone working from home, even the Houston Texans, who seek to add a third straight season possessing the AFC South title.
Working virtually per the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s mandates has been a hurdle for first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, who takes over after Romeo Crennel held the job for the past two seasons.
“We’ve tried to operate as best we could to keep things as we would if we were in the stadium,” Weaver told reporters on Wednesday. “So, early on all of us, the position coaches, had individual meetings with our players, and then right away we decided to teach some of the changes we made from a terminology standpoint and then get right into the install.”
According to coach Bill O’Brien on April 16, the Texans coaches were planning to have meetings using Zoom, a video conferencing service, and go over film with players using Discord, an application mostly used by video gamers.
What Weaver appreciates the most about the virtual offseason is it is sort of a state of suspended animation; there are only putative time constraints, which affords coaches to go over more in-depth material with players.
Said Weaver: “The one thing about this format is we can get into some graduate level details where we’re not under the gun, we’re not in a rush.”
The virtual offseason will continue through May 29, according to an addendum to Goodell’s mandate, and that only gives Weaver more time to go over “graduate level stuff” with the players.
“Obviously the Commissioner extended the virtual program [Wednesday], which I kind of guessed that was probably going to happen,” said Weaver. “So, we’re being able to teach some graduate level stuff that probably you would skim over otherwise.”
Weaver was previously the defensive line coach for the Texans from 2016-20, and will continue to double up in that role even as he takes over as defensive coordinator.
[vertical-gallery id=49151]