Tag: Texans coach

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans shares insight into how he handles young assistants

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans provided insight as to how he allows the younger assistants on his staff to develop.

One of the tenants of DeMeco Ryans’ coaching style is to comprise his staff of assistants with a variety of backgrounds. The Houston Texans’ 2023 staff is a blend of young minds and grizzled experience.

The older assistants won’t need much direction from Ryans, and one would figure that the 2022 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year would have to be more hands on developing the younger coaches.

However, Ryans is giving his staff autonomy.

“With first-time coaches it’s a matter of just letting a guy grow, giving him space to grow,” Ryans said. “For me, with coaches, it’s helping them just as much as I want to help players be successful. It’s giving them pointers, tips of where I see they may need them. It’s also giving them the space to grow, giving them the space to make mistakes and figure it out.”

Although there is something to be said for enculturation, Ryans believes that going through a process firsthand is what scores in the mind of a developing coach just how to handle situations going forward.

“I feel like experience is the best teacher, so to become a better teacher, better coach, you have to get out there, you have to do it, you have to mess it up a few times, and then you start to figure it out,” Ryans said.

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Texans coach DeMeco Ryans feels no pressure with rising expectations

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans says that he does not feel any added pressure to deliver upon the expectations of a revitalized and excited fanbase.

One area that has stayed the “new normal” for Clutch City sports fans since 2020 is the Houston Texans being dismal and miserable.

Since giving up a 24-0 lead to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional playoffs on Jan. 12, 2020, the Texans have compiled an 11-38-1 record, burned through three full-time coaches, and drifted to the bottom of the AFC South.

The aura in the Bayou City changed when Houston hired DeMeco Ryans. Although he had been the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator the past two seasons, the fanbase adored him for his two-time Pro Bowl tenure as a linebacker from 2006-11.

With the fans as excited as they have been in three years, Ryans says he does not feel any pressure because of the excitement level.

“No pressure for me at all,” said Ryans. “This is an outstanding organization, an outstanding job. I love the excitement being around the city, just everybody stopping. Fans are excited, they want to take pictures, autographs. It’s an exciting time. I don’t feel any pressure because I know I’m surrounding myself with the right people and I know we can get the job done. I know Houston is hungry for a winner.”

Ryans was part of the 49ers’ two unsuccessful bids in the past two NFC Championship Games. The 38-year-old similarly wants to lead a team to the Super Bowl, and the desire runs strong.

Said Ryans: “Trust me, I’m just as hungry to create a winner for this organization, for this city. It means a lot to me, and I want to be able to bring that to Houston. So, it’s no pressure. It just reminds me just continue to put your head down and go to work with the right purpose and to be detailed and just make sure we’re adding really great players to our team so when we line up on that field on Sundays, I want to just put a team out there that our city is proud of.”

The Texans kicked off the first phase of their offseason workout program Tuesday at NRG Stadium.

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Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is no stranger to the draft process

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans may be in his first year, but he is not by any means callow about the NFL draft process.

As a first-year coach, DeMeco Ryans may have to learn some aspects of his new gig while on the job.

Preparing for the NFL draft is not one of them.

The Houston Texans’ sixth full-time coach in franchise history is helping the organization gear up for one of their most consequential drafts in the past decade, and Ryans is no stranger to the process.

While defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers from 2021-22, Ryans was part of the pre-draft meetings under coach Kyle Shanahan.

“When I was in San Francisco I’ve sat through draft meetings for every position, so, this is not a new year for me,” Ryans said. “It’s the same as it’s been the past three years. Sat in and heard evaluations from all the offensive prospects and defensive prospects. For me, it’s very important to have the coach’s input, have the scout’s input, have everybody’s input on a player to make sure that we are adding the right guys to our team. It’s not a new process for me. Been through it a couple years. It’s the same.”

One of the years Ryans sat in on was 2021 when the 49ers intended to take a quarterback in Round 1, which they did in a trade with the Miami Dolphins that led to picking Trey Lance. Ryans was also in on the 49ers’ meetings last offseason when they chose quarterback Brock Purdy with the 262nd and final pick of the draft. The knowledge and experience Ryans picked up from those two processes may benefit the Texans as they seek to use the No. 2 overall selection in the 2023 draft on a franchise quarterback.

“It’s pretty interesting to see when you go through it a few times, it’s easy to kind of comp players to different players from the past,” said Ryans. “It’s been an interesting process.”

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Texans coach DeMeco Ryans excited to kick off offseason program

New coach DeMeco Ryans is enthused about the Houston Texans kicking off their offseason program as they gear up for the 2023 season.

One of the advantages the Houston Texans have in deploying a new coaching staff is a two-week head start on the offseason program.

The NFL allows teams with first-year coaches to begin their offseason workout programs early, and the Texans took advantage of that stipulation in the collective bargaining agreement.

New coach DeMeco Ryans was pleased with the participation he saw from the Texans after their first day.

“Our first day of offseason started and it was encouraging,” Ryans said. “Great participation from a lot of our guys. For me, the message to our guys was really just how are we showing up? Showing up on purpose, being detail oriented in how we work and just continue to have a growth mindset in everything we do.”

The Texans are in Phase 1 of the offseason program, and are limited to just meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation for the first two weeks.

Nevertheless Ryans and the coaching staff can set expectations for how the order of business will be conducted throughout NRG Stadium with a new regime on Kirby Drive.

“Our guys understand that if we want to be the best, we have to continue to strive to be better each day in everything that we do,” said Ryans. “We’re excited as coaches, excited to have the opportunity to meet with our guys for the first time, have the opportunity to in a couple weeks go on the field with our guys and work with them.”

Although the Houston Astros are 12 games into their regular season and the Houston Rockets concluded their 22-60 campaign April 9, there is palpable anticipation for the Texans throughout Clutch City.

Said Ryans: “It’s an exciting time. We feel the energy, the excitement from around the city, from our players, our entire building. We’re all fired up, and we’re excited to get going.”

Phase 2 begins April 25 with a voluntary minicamp that lasts through April 27.

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April fools: 4 areas where the Houston Texans won’t be a joke in 2023

The Houston Texans aren’t done building their roster, but here are four areas where they will not be a joke in 2023.

A cynic would argue the Houston Texans have been pulling a three-year-long April fools joke as a credible NFL franchise.

The Texans traded an All-Pro receiver for peanuts. They alienated their franchise quarterback just months after signing him to a huge extension. They hired the general manager they wanted all along after a PR campaign of high-profile advisors and committees. They have had two one-and-done coaches in their sixties. Houston hasn’t been able to win more than four games the past three seasons.

The DeMeco Ryans era, though two months old, appears to be a departure from the odyssey of the last three years. Here are four areas where the Texans won’t be a joke this season.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has not decided who calls the defense

New Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has yet to settle on who will call the defensive plays in 2023.

DeMeco Ryans is a successful defensive play-caller.

The 38-year-old was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers the past two seasons, and the NFC West club appeared in the NFL’s final four each time. The NFL assistant coach of the year honors Ryans picked up at the end of the 2022 campaign was an exclamation point as to how great he could be leading a defense.

As Ryans embarks on being the Houston Texans’ new coach, there still is ambivalence as to who will call the defensive plays nearly two months on the job.

The Texans hired former Arizona Cardinals defensive line coach Matt Burke as the defensive coordinator, and the 47-year-old was the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins from 2017-18 in the final two years with offensive-minded coach Adam Gase.

Ryans told reporters at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix March 27 that they have yet to decide who will call defensive plays.

However the Texans arrive at their decision, Ryans seeks to filter all of his actions through the philosophy of autonomy and allowing coaches to lead in their own way.

“I think at the end of the day, it’s all about leading people, growing the people that are around you and seeing something in the people that are around you, seeing certain traits and trying to help develop them more, trying to give them more of a leadership role, give them more command over running whatever particular part of our program, giving them the autonomy to take it over and see how they thrive in it and micromanage, letting people grow, letting people develop, knowing that there may be hiccups along the way, but that’s how you learn,” said Ryans. “That’s how I learned. No one micromanaged me. They allowed me to make mistakes and it allowed me to grow and become better.”

The Texans’ offseason program begins April 11.

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Texans coach DeMeco Ryans excited about the development of Dameon Pierce

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is enthused about the development running back Dameon Pierce can have from his first to second year in the NFL.

The stage was not too big for Dameon Pierce.

The fourth-round running back wrested control of the Houston Texans’ starting job in preseason and debuted as the feature back against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 at NRG Stadium. Although Pierce’s rookie season was limited to 13 games, the Florida product flashed in the national spotlight by earning the “Angriest Run of the Year” at the NFL Honors at the end of the 2022 campaign.

Pierce finished with the third-most rushing yards for a rookie with 939. He could have been first if not for an ankle injury in Week 14 that summarily ended his season.

New Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has not been shy about his appreciation for Pierce’s style of play, and understands why he carried 220 times, more than the rest of the team combined.

“I think he did what he had to do,” Ryans told reporters at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix March 27. “He showed some toughness, he showed some competitive fight in him. I love the way he runs, I love his style, and it’s a style that I really want to continue to feed him. I think that style of running is just — it excites the entire team.”

Pierce averaged 4.3 yards per carry and scored four touchdowns on the ground. The 5-10, 212-pound runner also caught 30 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown.

“He runs with an attitude that I really like and want to see him continue to build his game off of that, but I’m excited to see where Dameon — his growth from year one to year two,” said Ryans.

The Texans also signed running back Devin Singletary, who should be able to help Pierce weather the load. The former Buffalo Bills running back tallied 819 yards and five touchdowns on 177 carries while catching 38 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown through 16 games, all of which he started.

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DeMeco Ryans outlines how he wants to construct the Texans’ roster

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans provided a glimpse as to what the team is looking for when it constructing the roster with hungry players.

The Houston Texans are going to be a young team with DeMeco Ryans.

The Texans, who have 12 picks in the 2023 NFL draft, may be adding a bevy of talent from the college ranks where the players were stars. Coming to the NFL and playing for one of the moribund franchises of the past few seasons, such players may have more humbling introductions to pro football.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans met with reporters March 27 in Phoenix at the NFL owners meetings. The 38-year-old outlined just what he is looking for as the Texans construct their roster and prepare for the 2023 campaign.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans seeks to bring winners to change culture

DeMeco Ryans says he wants to bring winners to the Houston Texans as he seeks to turn around the culture.

For DeMeco Ryans, it begins with people.

The 38-year-old is tasked with resurfacing the scuttled Houston Texans, who have endured three consecutive double-digit losing seasons and fallen to the bottom of the AFC South. In order to change the culture, Ryans knows he will need quality individuals in place.

“It’s bringing in guys who have been part of winning programs,” Ryans told reporters March 27 at the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix. “Those guys establishing how do winners practice, how do winners work in the weight room, how do winners handle themselves off the field, and when you add those guys to your team, that’s how the culture continues to change.”

One of the “winners” that the Texans have brought in is safety Jimmie Ward. Not only was Ward with Ryans throughout his development as an assistant coach starting in 2017 with the San Francisco 49ers, but the former 2014 first-round pick was part of the Niners’ collapse during the Jim Harbaugh era, the morass of the Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly one-season stints, and the rise of the Kyle Shanahan reign.

Ward has seen it all, and having the 31-year-old in the locker room would be a good example for the existing and future young talent that will be added after the 2023 NFL draft.

Said Ryans: “You come in, you add younger college guys, draft guys or undrafted free agents, and they just fall underneath that leadership of the guys that we’ve added, so, is there something grand, and it’s about the culture change, it’s about the people.”

The Texans don’t just have former lieutenants of Ryans joining the team to provide examples of hard work paying off. The Texans also traded for former Tampa Bay Buccaneers guard Shaq Mason, who was also part of two Super Bowl-winning teams with the New England Patriots from 2015-21.

“If we bring the right people in who have the right work ethic, the right mindset, that’s how the culture starts to shift, and that’s how we build a winning program,” Ryans said.

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DeMeco Ryans reveals what he learned from former Texans coach Gary Kubiak

DeMeco Ryans explains what he learned playing for former Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak.

Gary Kubiak was the only coach DeMeco Ryans knew when he began his career with the Houston Texans.

The Texans hired Kubiak, and he coached with the team from 2006-13. 2006 was also the first year for Ryans as the organization selected him in Round 2 from Alabama.

Ryans was part of the movement to slowly elevate the Texans into an AFC South contender, a process that the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker only experienced in his final season in 2011.

The Texans went from 6-10 to posting just one losing season after Ryans’ rookie year. Although Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts had a hold of the division, the Texans were still in the mix.

Ryans told reporters March 27 at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix what Kubiak showed him during their six seasons together.

“The main thing I learned about Kubiak is how to create that first class environment from the top down,” said Ryans. “That’s one thing that we’ve been focusing on a lot for myself is just making sure everything we do throughout the building, throughout the organization is done in a first class manner. I thought Kubiak did an excellent job of that, of changing that culture there in Houston. I thought Kubiak did an excellent job of that, and I just want to create the same.”

By the time Kubiak left, the Texans had three winning seasons, two AFC South titles, and two playoff wins. The success setup Houston nicely for a competitive decade.

Now that Ryans is coaching his old team, his old coach has made himself available to offer any advice.

“He’s been outstanding when it comes to anything I need, any questions I have,” Ryans said. “He’s there as a shoulder for me to lean on. It’s great to have a former head coach who’s in a position — he’s done it, won Super Bowls. He’s done it at a high level, so to have him as a guy I can lean on has been very beneficial.”

Kubiak coached the Denver Broncos from 2015-16 and led the AFC West club to a Super Bowl win at the end of the 2015 campaign.

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