As far as Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is concerned, every season is different.
But as different as each year is, the mission and purpose are unchanged: Give Houston a team it can be proud of.
As Ryans enters season three at the helm of the franchise he once played for, Ryans’ rise has been nothing short of remarkable. The excitement he feels now is matched only by the energy he has helped restore to Houston.
“It’s awesome to think about when we first got here to feel the excitement, to feel the buzz around the city, to see everyone excited about Houston Texans football,” said Ryans, who has already delivered back-to-back AFC South titles and a 2-2 playoff record in his first two years. “One of my main goals in coming back here as head coach was to bring great energy back to the city and get our fans excited about what we’re building.
“It’s not only about the team and the organization—it’s about the entire city. We want Houston to be proud of us, proud of what we do on the field.”
As with the beginning of most NFL seasons, the Texans’ expectations are high as they prepare for the Sept. 7 season opener at the Los Angeles Rams.
Will the Texans win a third-straight AFC South Division title?
Will they finally break through the AFC divisional round of the playoffs?
Are the pieces in place for third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud to become one of the elite NFL quarterbacks?
Could this be the year the Texans put it all together for a Super Bowl run?
So many questions. So many expectations.
It’s Ryan’s job to manage it all. But he has learned the art of delegating, which will be essential in such a critical year.
“For me, I feel like I’ve grown in a manner of, I’ve talked about this a lot, delegating more, taking more off my plate,” Ryans said to the Defender. “I feel like we’re in a really good spot as a team of just trusting more of my staff and people around me. I’ve got a really great staff. When it comes to that part of it, just being able to delegate more. I feel like I’ve evolved in that area.”
But Ryans, 41, has continued to be who he is at his core: a coach who exudes positivity and upliftment toward his players. His players and everyone around him seem to feed off that energy.
“I think every day is intentional. Every day is urgent,” Stroud said of Ryans’ coaching style. “I think every day he’s done a good job of trying to push guys to that limit to where it’s going to be hard in those games. Personally, I don’t see a difference just because he’s been that way. But, I think that’s a good thing. I’ll definitely say the other guys are starting to buy into him more.”
Ryans, one of five Black NFL head coaches, came to the Texans in 2023 with enthusiasm that permeated a cutting-edge coaching style and philosophy that gave the players a stake in the process. Over the past two seasons, he and general manager Nick Caserio have also formed a genuinely close connection, which has allowed them to be in synch in ways that you don’t often see in the NFL.
Their time together will likely forever be defined by their decision on draft night in 2023 to take Stroud No.2 overall and then trade back into the first round of the draft to take defensive end Will Anderson Jr. No.3 overall. Who does that? The brain trust of Ryans and Caserio.
They’ve seemed to be on the same page on every acquisition and move since.
“We arm wrestle,” Ryans joked. “No, we just get in the room and we talk it out. We talk it out.”
Ultimately, they work it out. It’s been quite a different relationship than Caserio had with the two previous head coaches he hired, David Culley and Lovie Smith, where Caserio seemed to be making all of the personnel decisions. This offseason, they decided on Nick Caley to run the offense.
Now it’s more of a collaboration, strengthening their relationship.
“Honestly, it probably hasn’t changed since the day we hired him to where we are now,” Caserio said in a more than two-minute response to the Defender’s question about how their relationship has grown. “I’ve said this publicly, I’ve said this privately, I flat out love the guy. I have a massive amount of appreciation and respect for who he is and what he’s about.
“I think we see football through the same lens. We have a massive amount of respect for each other and the jobs that we have to do.”
Ryans appreciates the relationship of trust and open communication he and Caserio have developed over their time together. Even when they initially disagree about a player, they find a way to work through it.
“Really just diving in and having, for me and Nick, open and honest conversations because we both are in this together to make sure we put the best guys out there on game day to give us a chance to win,” said Ryans, who went 20-14 during his two regular seasons with the Texans. “So, there are not too many times we have disagreements on players. We, for the most part, see guys the same. Not too many times that comes up.”
“Now, he won’t take credit because he’s so humble in his nature. But, everything starts with him and it disseminates throughout the rest of the building.”
Nick Caserio on DeMeco Ryans
Their two seasons together have allowed them to put together what they consider their best 53-man roster. They know this because it was hard to cut certain players, which wasn’t always the case in the previous two seasons.
“We have a better sense, collectively, of what the type of players we’re looking for and it makes it easier to pick those guys,” Ryans said. “Now we have more of those guys than we had my first year here. We had a lot more guys who are representative of the style of play and the type of guys that I want to be in the building. That’s why the decisions are tougher now.”
It’s increased excitement and energy as Ryans looks forward to this season.
“But every year it starts over for me. Right now, the intensity level is up; it’s game mode,” he said to the Defender. “It’s all in on how do we go get the Rams. That’s where I’m at right now.”
