Report: Texans to hire Colts’ Chris Strausser as OL coach, drop George Warhop

The Houston Texans are looking to hire Indianapolis Colts OL coach Chris Strausser as they move on from George Warhop.

The Houston Texans aren’t looking too far for a new offensive line coach.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans are moving on from current offensive line coach George Warhop, who was with the team for one season as the OL coach under Lovie Smith.

The Texans are reportedly targeting Indianapolis Colts offensive line coach to take the same job. Strausser has been with the Colts since 2019.

The Colts hired Strausser in 2019 when then-coach Frank Reich reached out to him despite having no formal introduction. The move worked until 2022 as the Colts gave up the fourth-fewest sacks from 2019-21, and guard Quenton Nelson and center Ryan Kelly both earned Pro Bowl selections in 2021.

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Texans OL coach George Warhop still sees G Kenyon Green as ‘work in progress’

Houston Texans offensive line coach George Warhop still views first-round guard Kenyon Green as a “work in progress.”

Kenyon Green has played 13 games, starting in 12 of them, but his offensive line coach believes the first-rounder can show more improvement in the final two games.

Green has missed the last two games with an ankle injury, but should be good to go against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17 at NRG Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Houston Texans offensive line coach George Warhop likes what he has seen from the Texas A&M product, but sees areas where he still has to develop.

“Kenyon is still a work in progress in my mind,” said Warhop. “He does some really good things, and there’s some things we got to fix. We’re just working those things out.”

Warhop doesn’t compare Green to other young players. Instead Warhop is measuring Green against what the Humble Atascocita High School alumnus is being asked within offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s system.

“When you get players, you don’t look at one young player and compare them to the next,” Warhop explained. “My deal is, ‘Hey are you doing it the way we ask? Are you trying to get it done? How are you progressing with that?’ And he’s been doing that.”

Green left Week 14’s 27-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys with an ankle injury. The Texans shuffled right tackle Tytus Howard to left guard and substituted Charlie Heck in place of Howard at right tackle.

Warhop noted Green had challenges in his rookie season going against stellar defensive tackles such as Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen in Week 11 against Washington, who completely dominated the line of scrimmage and shut down Houston’s run game.

Said Warhop: “He was doing really well, kind of hit some hiccups, then he got back on track. That’s just the process with a young guy.”

With Green returning to the lineup, the Texans should be able to move Howard back to right tackle against the Jaguars.

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Texans work out former Jaguars tackle K.C. McDermott

The Houston Texans have worked out former Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants tackle K.C. McDermott.

The Houston Texans are taking a look at adding depth at tackle.

Texans worked out former Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants tackle K.C. McDermott according to a league source.

The former 2018 undrafted free agent from Miami played 16 games for the Jaguars, starting in one of them. All 16 of McDermott’s activations came in the George Warhop era from 2020-21. From 2019-21 Warhop, who is the Texans’ offensive line coach, served in the same capacity for Jacksonville under coaches Doug Marrone and Urban Meyer.

McDermott is 6-5, 311 pounds. The Giants signed him to their practice squad Sept. 12 and released him on Sept. 20. McDermott did not make the final cuts for the Jaguars at the end of the 2022 preseason.

Texans RT Tytus Howard appreciates the stability of entering Year 4 with Houston

Right tackle Tytus Howard likes the way things have been stable for him as he enters his fourth season with the Houston Texans.

As Tytus Howard enters his fourth season, it appears the former 2019 first-round pick finally has some stability.

After being yo-yoed between guard and tackle throughout the 2021 campaign, the Houston Texans intend to have Howard play on the right side as a bookend to left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Second-year quarterback Davis Mills should benefit from having two solid pass protectors on the edge in Tunsil and Howard.

The Texans’ presumptive starting right tackle and former Alabama State Hornet had the opportunity to talk with Patrick Storm about the upcoming season, his thoughts on new offensive line coach George Warhop, and HBCU’s.

Texans sign former Jaguars G Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms

The Houston Texans have brought in former Jacksonville Jaguars guard Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms.

The Houston Texans are shoring up their interior offensive line depth with a familiar face.

The Texans signed former Jacksonville Jaguars guard Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms Monday.

Wallace-Simms has familiarity with Texans offensive line coach George Warhop, who was the offensive line coach with the Jaguars from 2019-21.

The Jaguars signed the 6-5, 330-pound guard as an undrafted free agent from Missouri in 2020. Wallace-Simms had five game day activations for Jacksonville in his two seasons, but never started any games. The East St. Louis, Illi., product saw a total of 17 offensive snaps and 12 special teams snaps in his two seasons with the Jaguars.

The Texans signed another Warhop player and former Jaguar at the start of free agency in guard A.J. Cann.

Houston recently waived offensive lineman Carson Green, who played college ball at Texas A&M.

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G A.J. Cann signed with the Texans because of OL coach George Warhop

Guard A.J. Cann says the reason he signed with the Houston Texans in free agency was because the club added George Warhop as their OL coach.

Little the did the Houston Texans know that when they added George Warhop to Lovie Smith’s staff as offensive line coach that they were going to score a guard in free agency.

The Jacksonville Jaguars allowed A.J. Cann to hit the free agent market in March, and the former 2015 third-round pick from South Carolina had a good idea where he wanted to continue his NFL career.

“He’s one of the reasons I stepped up to be here but there are a lot of people here that I know decently,” Cann told reporters after organized team activities at Houston Methodist Training Center Tuesday. “I felt like it was time to make a change and I felt like this would be a good change for me. I’ve been liking the vibe so far and I love what’s going on. I love the situation right now.”

The Texans drafted Texas A&M’s Kenyon Green with the No. 15 overall pick in Round 1 of the 2022 NFL draft. Presumably the former Atascocita High School product will take the left guard job, which leaves right guard open for Cann.

What gives the 6-3, 315-pounder an inside edge is he knows what type of coach Warhop is and what his expectations are for the offensive line.

“Coach Warhop is going to be very detailed,” said Cann. “He’s going to be about his work each and every day. I know he’s a laidback coach but when it’s time to get after it, he gets after it. He’s never going to change for anybody. He’s going to be him and that’s what I respect about him.”

Warhop is the third different offensive line coach in as many seasons for the Texans. James Campen was the offensive line coach, but after Houston fired David Culley as coach, Campen took a job with the Carolina Panthers, reuniting him with a former Green Bay Packers connection in offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo.

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Texans still deciding on whether Tytus Howard is a guard or a tackle

The Houston Texans are still determining where the best fit is for G-T Tytus Howard (@tyhoward71).

Tytus Howard showed off his flexibility along the offensive line in 2021.

The Houston Texans initially placed their former 2019 first-round pick at left guard. However, due to injuries throughout the 17-game campaign, Howard kicked back out at tackle, where he had started from 2019-20, and demonstrated greater ability on the edge than on the inside.

With new offensive line coach George Warhop coming over from the Jacksonville Jaguars, the expectation is the Texans will move Howard back to right tackle, especially with two-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil returning as the left tackle.

However, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton indicated on April 11 in his meeting with reporters on the first day of offseason workouts that the Texans are still determining the best fit for Howard.

“It’s something that Coach (Lovie) Smith and our staff will continue to work through just to make sure we put the best five guys in a position for us to be successful offensively,” Hamilton said.

For the Texans, the emphasis on offense begins at the point of attack, and Hamilton wants the linemen to have big part in clearing run lanes and providing protection for quarterback Davis Mills.

“It all starts up front for us,” said Hamilton. “It all starts up front and saying that is not just cliché, we really feel like our offensive lineman are play makers as well. Coach Warhop brings a ton of experience to that room along with [assistant OL coach] Hal Hunter. I had the chance to work with Coach Warhop some time ago and Coach Hal at some previous spots and we feel like when you look at the guys we have in that room, some of those guys have skins on the wall and we should be able to go out and work together to develop a consistent run game.”

Houston’s ambiguity as to where Howard will play in 2022 invites the possibility the Texans draft a tackle within the top-100 of the draft.

Jags OL coach George Warhop clears NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 protocols, will be able to be with team vs. Colts

Jags offensive line coach George Warhop will be able to coach in the team’s season finale Sunday and has cleared NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 protocols.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the teams who’ve been tremendously affected by COVID-19 cases (or situations that have required people to quarantine) as of late, and that will be the case Week 18. They will enter their game against the Indianapolis Colts with nine players on the Reserve/COVID-19, which resulted in them calling up nine players from the practice squad Saturday.

It also appeared the Jags could be without offensive line coach George Warhop due to the league’s COVID-19 protocols as he was deemed unavailable for Sunday’s game on Friday. However, on Sunday morning, the Jags announced that he cleared NFL-NFLPA protocols and will be allowed to take the sideline against the Colts.

While the Jags’ offensive line has been far from perfect, having Warhop on the sideline could be significant because the team is already without their best offensive lineman Brandon Linder and No. 1 left tackle, Cam Robinson. With a rookie, Walker Little, set to replace the latter, going into the finale without Warhop could’ve been viewed as a concern for some, but that no longer is the case.

Warhop has been with the Jags since 2019 and was brought into the organization by former coach Doug Marrone, who he coached while on the London Monarchs’ (NFL Europe) staff.

Had Warhop not been able to coach, the Jags were set to let assistant offensive line coach Todd Washington assume his role for the season finale. Once a former player in the NFL (with Tampa and Houston), Washington has nine years of experience as an NFL assistant, starting with time with the Baltimore Ravens (2011-16) and New York Jets (2019-20).

OL coach George Warhop says Cam Robinson will be Jags’ starting LT

With the Jacksonville Jaguars announcing that Will Richardson would officially move to left tackle, many fans were expecting him to provide some competition for starter Cam Robinson. However, with three weeks left before the season, offensive line …

With the Jacksonville Jaguars announcing that Will Richardson would officially move to left tackle, many fans were expecting him to provide some competition for starter Cam Robinson. However, with three weeks left before the season, offensive line coach George Warhop informed the media of who he envisions being on Gardner Minshew’s blindside come Week 1.

“How important? I mean, Cam is going to be our starting left tackle, I think he’s extremely important,” Warhop said when the media asked him about the importance of Robinson before Sunday’s practice.

“And we need him to perform at a high level. The biggest thing from last year to now is he can take all the practice. He’s out there in all the practices, he’s taking all the reps, there’s been, to this point, no issues with him physically.”

With Robinson being a former second-round pick who is playing on a contract year where the Jags must know what they have in him, Warhop’s statements aren’t the slightest bit shocking. That said, Robinson can now focus on preparing for the regular season.

Warhop’s statements about Robinson’s ability to practice also make sense. Last year, Robinson was returning from an ACL tear before training camp, but he’s now further removed from it and it’s clear he’s 100%. In fact, Robinson has been one of the standouts in camp and started it off on such a high note that he was clearly miles ahead of Richardson from Warhop’s view. It also didn’t help that Richardson had to get acclimated to a new position.

“I’m going to be frank and honest. First, Will had to get adjusted to playing left tackle. Alright, so I don’t think he was there when we started training camp and as I stated the last 3 or 4 days, you can see him settling in. As he gets more settled in and he gets more comfortable, he can create some more competition, that’s just where it is,” Warhop said.

“When he walked in the door, I wouldn’t say day one he was truly competing with Cam [Robinson], because Cam is so far ahead of him. As he closes the distance, he’ll start competing. And I think he’s starting to close the distance.”

With the decision seemingly set on a starter, there is still work for Robinson to do. As the protector of Minshew’s blindside, he must carry his strong showing in camp into the regular season, because if he doesn’t, it could be a long season for the Mississippi Mustache and company who must improve altogether.

Jags OL coach George Warhop discusses Ben Bartch’s transition into NFL so far

One of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ more interesting picks of the 2020 NFL Draft was offensive lineman Ben Bartch, who was selected in the fourth-round. With many fans believing the team needed help on the offensive line, it didn’t take long for many …

One of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ more interesting picks of the 2020 NFL Draft was offensive lineman Ben Bartch, who was selected in the fourth-round. With many fans believing the team needed help on the offensive line, it didn’t take long for many to demand him as a replacement for starting guard A.J. Cann.

However, in the early stages of camp, it appears offensive line coach George Warhop believes Bartch needs some more time to get acclimated, though he likes his potential and upside.

“I like Ben, I like him. His college tape was good, but level of play didn’t give you a great indicator of what he possibly could be. I thought when he was at the senior bowl before he got hurt, I thought he competed extremely well there,” Warhop said.

“[He] showed some things that we like in our guys, some strength. He has some tenacity. He’s a bright kid. I think it’s really just him getting comfortable. He hasn’t shied away from the competition, just technically getting used to how we want to play, making the transition from tackle to guard.”

As pointed out by Warhop, Bartch’s name began to garner some attention at the Senior Bowl as he was on an all-star roster practicing against notables like Javon Kinlaw, Jabari Zuniga, and Jonathan Greenard to name a few. He held his own in the process and it Cleary was a key in the Jags drafting him No. 116th overall.

As for the strength and tenacity Warhop spoke on, that was on display this week for Bartch as the pads went on. There were times where the media was able to catch him on video holding his own against some of the Jags potential starters like Taven Bryan and Timmy Jernigan.

While it’s unclear if Bartch could overtake Cann as a starter, there is time for Bartch to make progress as the regular season is three weeks away. With no preseason games, it might be an uphill battle if he has a chance to start but clearly the talent is there for him to develop.