Houston Texans Finally Get it Right with DeMeco Ryans Hiring

DeMeco Ryans comes back home in the home run hire of this head coaching cycle.

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A week ago today, the Houston Texans announced DeMeco Ryans as the franchise’s new head coach. For a franchise that’s still relatively young, the hiring of the franchise’s sixth-ever head coach is already one of its best-ever moments. 

But before things started to get better, they got worse. A lot worse. Just to show how far they have come, it’s worth going over the history of how the team arrived at the point they are at now. 

Most of it is the franchise’s own doing, but this three-year stretch with so much chaos is exactly why the team was the laughingstock of the NFL, and it all began with blowing a 24-0 lead against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional playoff round game on January 12, 2020. What should have led to then head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien’s dismissal was only the beginning of so much turmoil, starting with, in order:

  1. The offseason following Houston’s collapse against Kansas City where Bill O’Brien and front office member/preacher/shadow leader of the organization Jack Easterby made several costly moves, including questionable contract extensions and trades like swapping DeAndre Hopkins for David Johnson and a second-round pick. 
  1. Bill O’Brien is fired after 0-4 start to the 2020 season. 
  1. Sports Illustrated publishes a cover story on December 10, 2020 about Jack Easterby tearing down the franchise.
  1. Houston finishes the 2020 season 4-12, and JJ Watt, the greatest player in franchise history, asks for his release.
  1. Houston hires Baltimore Ravens wide receivers coach David Culley to be the fourth head coach in franchise history after the New Year in 2021. 
  1. Moments after the announcement of Culley, current face-of-the-franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson publicly demands a trade after having just signed a contract extension four months earlier. 
  1. Weeks later, the same face of the franchise is accused of sexual assaulting 20+ women, which then leads to a year-plus wait before resolution on the matter finally arrives. 
  1. Houston goes into the 2021 NFL draft with no first- or second-round picks due to their previous trade with the Miami Dolphins for Laremy Tunsil. 

From here on out begins two years of Houston coming away with the third- and second-worst records in the NFL while accruing tons of dead cap space due to cuts made by GM Nick Caserio after O’Brien’s questionable contract extensions and dead money from trading away Watson to Cleveland. After Culley is fired following the 2021 season, the team can’t reach an agreement with Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon because of staffing. Then the team focuses on trying to hire recently retired NFL quarterback Josh McCown until Brian Flores files a lawsuit. Once the lawsuit is filed, Houston instead hires in-house defensive coordinator Lovie Smith to be the next head coach to save themselves from public scrutiny. After one season that ended with Houston fumbling the number one overall pick by winning in overtime against the Indianapolis Colts in bizarre fashion, Lovie is fired as soon as the team gets back to Indianapolis following that game.

While a small part of me understands why people would question anyone wanting to lead this franchise after they fired two one-and-done head coaches, I always come back to these two questions: 

First: Knowing everything that happened above, why would anyone want to start or further extend their coaching career in 2021 or 2022 given the lack of draft capital and talent on the rosters, along with all the dead cap money? It’s exactly why the Houston Texans head coach position was the least desirable head coaching job in the NFL for all those years. 

Second: Why are David Culley and Lovie Smith still unemployed after being fired? When the team hired Culley and Lovie, they knew like everyone else that they weren’t the long-term solutions to the franchise.

For three years, the Texans have been dragged through the mud and rightfully so. While ESPN has yet to make 30 for 30 about these three years, there was reason to have a little optimism for the prospect of them being able to get the head coach they wanted this offseason. With draft capital, including two first round picks this year and next year, some much-needed cap space, and a couple of pieces on both sides of the ball on the current roster, Houston was in a position to hire the guy they wanted to lead this team long-term. And after a few weeks of interviews, which saw them interview every hot candidate on the market from Sean Payton to Ejiro Evero, Houston finally made the decision that made the most sense: they brought their former team captain home. 

On January 31, DeMeco Ryans agreed to become the next head coach of the Houston Texans with a six-year deal, and once the announcement was made, the energy of the Houston fan base, former and current Texans players, and some members of the national media was felt. The excitement was everywhere, and people couldn’t wait for Ryans’ introductory press conference on February 2. 

But before that press conference took place, the icing on the whole cake was Denver trying to lure DeMeco away from Houston at the last minute, which proved, one: not all the money from a team owned by Wal-Mart is enough. And two: how much of a detractor Russell Wilson’s play and ego actually are. 

In his introductory press conference, DeMeco was asked about picking Houston over Denver, and he said, “It wasn’t a difficult decision at all. It was easy.” Later in the press conference, Ryans revealed that at the end of his first interview with Houston he said, “I want to come home. This is my dream job. Let’s make it happen.” 

The fact that Houston wanted a candidate as much as the candidate wanted them speaks volumes to me. And the following day, GM Nick Caserio in a interview with Sports Radio 610 inadvertently said that DeMeco cancelled his interviews with Arizona and Indianapolis after his first interview with Houston because that’s where he wanted to be. 

Ryans’ press conference came with much buzz, beginning with his intro into the building, with employees of the team cheering him on (which Tennessee Titans fans were quick to say copied their recent GM hiring because all other NFL hirings have to be completely different). 

Many former Texans came to the press conference, including legends like future Hall of Famer Andre Johnson and former standout linebacker Brian Cushing. The press conference was great from start to finish, but it was Ryans’ comments about young pieces already on the team that should excite fans. He mentioned how much he likes Jalen Pitre and how he wants to blitz him more (something former head coach Smith rarely did), or how he wants to put cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., “in a position where he can excel and showcase his talents.” Which, again, is something Smith rarely did because he ran a Tampa-2 defense.

As a Texans fan writing this, it has been a struggle to get behind this team over the past three years. But last week signaled a change. I now am legitimately excited that this team is getting back on the right track. The hiring of DeMeco Ryans has drawn praise from just about everyone, and there is universal consensus that the team got a “leader of men.” I believe Houston might have found their equivalent of Tennessee’s Mike Vrabel, but we’ll see. There is still plenty of work to be done, including potentially finding a franchise quarterback in the draft and shoring up the league’s worst rush defense. But the hiring of DeMeco is the perfect first step. 

Sean Atkins is the EIC at 615 Film, President of the Music City Film Critics’ Association, and a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association. He’s also a devout (and sometimes punished) fan of the Atlanta Braves, Houston Texans, and all things Vanderbilt. Follow him on Twitter: @SeanJ8

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