DeMeco Ryans is excited to go to work as the Houston Texans coach.
The 38-year-old is appreciative of his predecessors — from Dom Capers to Lovie Smith.
“When I look at this organization and all of the great men who have come before me to lead this organization, all of the great head coaches who have been here, it’s an honor just to follow those men; a lot of great men,” Ryans said.
Ryans, who was with the Texans from 2006-11 and played 86 career games for Houston, is not blind to how putrid they have been the past three seasons with consecutive double-digit losing campaigns. They have also taken punches to their reputation with a high profile quarterback demanding a trade — amid a personal conduct scandal no less — and firing three coaches from 2020-22.
“We know we have a lot of work to do,” said Ryans. “We have to win. We want to build the right staff. We want to get the right players, so we can go out and win and compete. That’s when the excitement continues, and that’s what we want to bring.”
Here are three areas which excite Ryans about the Texans.
Young players
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Said Ryans: “When I look at this job and this opportunity, I look at it as, how are we going to move forward? The young players that we have, that’s what it’s about.”
There are exciting, young players for Ryans, as a defensive mind, to get a hold of in cornerback Derek Stingley, safety Jalen Pitre, and linebacker Christian Harris.
However, the 2022 draft class produced guard Kenyon Green and running back Dameon Pierce, who can only help to elevate the offense as their experience mounts. John Metchie, who is receiving treatment for leukemia, also presents a dynamic weapon in the passing game.
Draft capital
(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
“The draft capital we have, we’re excited about that,” Ryans said.”
The Texans have six picks in the top-103, including two Round 1 and two Round 3 picks. Houston is also tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the most draft picks with 12, which allows the Texans to build packages to take specific players.
The Texans also have the fourth-most salary cap space in the NFL at $37.1 million.
NRG Stadium
(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
“We’re excited to give our fans something to be excited about, to fill the stadium up,” said Ryans.
NRG Stadium has hardly been a home-field advantage for the Texans. If it has ever filled up since 2021, when NFL teams were allowed to reopen with full capacity crowds at games, the percentages probably have included more opposing fans than Houston fans.
Getting NRG Stadium filled with rowdy Texans fans would make the venue the toughest in the AFC South once again.
