Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans continues to prove that he has an eye for talent that others aren't finding quick enough
The Houston Texans have consistently put together a very good staff. Sure, the Bobby Slowik thing didn't work out for the Texans last season, but to be fair, it worked out for them the year before that. And when head coach DeMeco Ryans saw that it wasn't working, he made some moves. Ryans let Slowik […]
The Houston Texans have consistently put together a very good staff. Sure, the Bobby Slowik thing didn't work out for the Texans last season, but to be fair, it worked out for them the year before that. And when head coach DeMeco Ryans saw that it wasn't working, he made some moves.
Ryans let Slowik go and brought on Nick Caley, a bright, young offensive mind, which seems like the popular thing to do nowadays in the NFL. That's certainly where the trends are pointing towards, and that's certainly the way that Ryans went with the hire, too. But not just his offensive coordinator is like that.
In fact, Ryans has two other staff members, on the entire staff, coaching and front office, who are known as being two of the best young minds in football. They have two guys that have a talent for it all, and yet Ryans was able to get to them quicker and put them on staff.
The Athletic put together a list of staff members around the league that are the best "50 under 40," or in other words, the 50 best coaches and executives under 40 years old. The Texans had two make the list.
Jerrod Johnson: Johnson's extensive background with C.J. Stroud and several ascending young quarterbacks in general through development groups such as Nike’s Elite 11 made him an invaluable part of the Houston Texans' talent identification process. Now Stroud — the No. 2 pick of the 2023 draft — is one of the faces of the NFL. Johnson has interviewed for offensive coordinator jobs in the last two hiring cycles but many in league circles believe his true potential lies beyond that — as a future head coach.
DJ Debick: The ready-to-win Texans made big moves in free agency and via trade this past season, led in part by Debick’s efforts in pro personnel. Danielle Hunter, Joe Mixon, Azeez Al-Sh,aair, and Stefon Diggs were all key additions (though Diggs suffered a season-ending injury in Week 8), and extending star receiver Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz was important while C.J. Stroud remains on his rookie contract. Debick also played a key role in bringing in new offensive coordinator Nick Caley, a former Rams assistant who was among the top candidates in this coaching cycle.
Acknowledge this now, because there is a good chance that neither of these two dudes will be on this team a year from now. Just this offseason, a few teams including the Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers interviewed Johnson for an offensive coordinator position. Obviously, nothing happened, but they were interested nonetheless. This is the second year in a row that Johnson has had interviews for a position higher than his current one.
So, next year, he may end up being gone. That's the way today's NFL works. And, the same goes for DJ Debick, who is the director of pro scouting and has an eye for talent. Someone is bound to snatch him up for a GM or assistant GM job eventually.
It's safe to say that Ryans knows what he is doing, and he has a knack for grabbing young talent on his staff.
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