'All That Matters!' DeMeco Ryans Prepared for Texans Personnel and Coaching Changes
The Houston Texans’ season ended on Saturday as they flew home as losers of the AFC Divisional Round matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. They were physically and schematically outmatched. Baltimore is simply on another level.
Houston has had no shortage of moral victories this season. They won’t hang banners, but they’ve cultivated a sense of optimism that has long been absent in H-Town, and provide hope that something better will unfold in the Texans’ next chapter.
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The Texans could have seen their season end after they started 0-2, or after a Week 12 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars temporarily suspended their hopes of an AFC South title. They could have shut it down when rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud got hurt, or receiver Tank Dell’s season ended.
There were injuries – so many injuries – and Houston managed to persevere until it finally ran out of gas in the middle of January.
That’s only possible because of the people in the building, and Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans knows it.
“This season, there were a lot of changes that occurred throughout the year,” Ryans said. “You talk about players up and down, guys are in and out of the lineup. So just getting used to being in this position, things are gonna change. Being able to be flexible and understand that that happens.
“Under my leadership, whatever happens, it’s my responsibility to find the right people. For me, I always come back to the people. If you find the right people, that can lead, that are willing to help, with a serving mindset … If we find the right people, that’s all that matters.”
Houston would not have found the success it did without a strong first-year offensive coordinator in Bobby Slowik or quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson. Matt Burke did a good job coordinating the other side of the ball, but it’s clear Ryans’ winning mindset has had downstream effects. From the outside, everyone seems bought in, and the results show. It takes tangible personnel changes to shift the culture, and Ryans’ first year has done just that.
The Texans, having accelerated their rebuild, are much closer to their contending window than most anticipated. With that comes difficult free-agent decisions and new veterans in the locker room. But it also means that coaches, like Slowik and Johnson, could be in line for promotions across the league.
“First off, it’s a credit to our staff and the success that we had throughout the year. A lot of people are trying to see what’s going on in Houston and a lot of people wanna have interview requests … It’s kind of the nature of success … It’s a tough part of it, but it’s part of the business. That’s what happens and we’ll have to have contingency plans available.”
Houston underwent its makeover last offseason, with a new quarterback and head coach completely shifting the perception and trajectory of the franchise. Now, it’s about fine-tuning the progress that was already made, mitigating the weaknesses of this past season, and ensuring the right people fill in for those vacant coaching positions, should they appear.
The new-look Texans of 2024 will still very much resemble the people who left their fingerprints on the organization in the past season. Ryans – and the culture he’s built – will ensure it.
“I think we’ll be inviting for a lot of free agents to come here,” Ryans said. “But again for me, it’ll always be about the people, and getting the right people in is everything to me.”
