HOUSTON — The Houston Texans wrapped up their final day of mandatory mini-camp, and with only some administrative things to take care of, coach DeMeco Ryans can finally take a break and relax briefly before training camp begins later this summer.
“I think it’s time for a little rest and relaxation,” said Ryans on Wednesday. “Especially for me. I’ve been going pretty non-stop since our last playoff game. So definitely a little rest and relaxation to make sure I’m powered up and ready to go for the season.”
The Texans hired Ryans following the San Francisco 49ers’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game in late January. Ryans spent six seasons with the 49ers with his last two as the defensive coordinator under coach Kyle Shanahan.
Houston made the former 2006 second-round linebacker a high-priority candidate at the end of the 2022 regular season after they fired former coach Lovie Smith.
Since his introductory press conference, one person has been by his side the entire time, general manager Nick Caserio.
“Nick has been really fun to work with,” Ryans said. “Nick is very knowledgeable — one of the smartest football minds I’ve been around. It’s not just the scouting part when it comes to acquiring players, but it’s also just the football knowledge, the scheme, the ‘x’s, and o’s.’ Having his knowledge and having a guy I can lean [on] for any question.”
That knowledge came in handy when Ryans was going through his first pre-draft process in Indianapolis, which led to them acquiring talent on both sides of the ball when they drafted former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson with back-to-back selections in the 2023 NFL draft.
“We’ve become pretty tight over the last couple of months, and it’s been a really great relationship,” said Texans HC DMeco Ryans about working with general manager Nick Caserio throughout OTAs and minicamp. #Texans #Sarge @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/MzFFnle5ZD
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) June 14, 2023
From the beginning of the rookie minicamp to the conclusion of the mandatory minicamp, Ryans and Caserio have been on one accord on and off the field. They are constantly communicating about the team’s needs and direction and can be seen having frequent conversations. Caserio believes that Ryans is the right person to help take the Texans into the next phase of the rebuilding process after only winning a combined 11 games in the last three years.
It was imperative that Caserio made the proper head coaching selection after the hiring catastrophe Smith and David Culley before him, both of whom only served in that capacity for one season.
“What better person to lead this organization, to lead this team, to lead these players, than DeMeco Ryans,” Caserio said during Ryans introductory press conference in February. “I think everything that DeMeco exhibited as a player, what he’s done as a coach, his leadership, his selflessness, his toughness, his team-first mindset, his charisma, and I would say we didn’t really know each other, but the more and more time we spent together, it was almost a no-brainer as to who was the right fit for this team, this organization, this city.”
Four months later, Ryans echoed those sentiments about Caserio as well.
“We’ve become pretty tight over the last couple of months, and it’s been a really great relationship,” Ryans told the media. “I’m happy to be in this spot working with someone as experienced as Nick because he’s helped me and guided me through a lot. It’s always great to have someone you can lean on, someone you can trust, and in our relationship, we collaborate on everything.
“That was our plan coming into it, and that’s what we do. Every morning we’re meeting, making sure that we’re on the same page, and I think that’s how you grow when you have collaboration, and you have buy-in from everyone. Just like we’re asking our players to be one, me and Nick, we’re one on all of our decisions that we make, trying to make our organization the best it can be.”
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