High Surprise! Where's Texans' DeMeco Ryans Rank Among Coaches?
It's early, but new Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans seems to be bringing a much-needed culture change to a franchise that's won just 11 games over the last three seasons.
To that end, CBS Sports recently ranked all 32 NFL coaches, and the positive buzz around Ryans' first summer in Houston propelled him to No. 25, a pretty strong debut for the first-time head coach.
Second-year safety Jalen Pitre was very complimentary of the job Ryans has done so far in Houston earlier this week.
"It's been fun. He’s a real coach, a guy that really loves football," Pitre said of Ryans to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. "His energy is contagious. In a meeting room, on the field, you can see why he’s been successful on the field and off the field. I’m excited to be able to play for him."
Ryans was placed him above Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears, Josh McDaniels of the Las Vegas Raiders, Arthur Smith of the Atlanta Falcons, Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dennis Allen of the New Orleans Saints and Robert Saleh, all of whom have at least one season leading an NFL team.
Of the three rookie coaches in the NFL this season, Ryans was ranked second. Jonathan Gannon of the Arizona Cardinals -- previously the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles -- was ranked 31st. Meanwhile, former Eagles' offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, now the coach of the Indianapolis Colts, came in one spot above Ryans at No. 24.
Since the start of the 2020 season, the Texans have had five coaches, including Ryans. Bill O'Brien was fired in October of 2020, and veteran defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel served as the interim coach for the remainder of the season. David Culley and Lovie Smith were each only given one year as coach of the Texans. By all accounts, Ryans will bring some stability to Houston, as he was given a six-year contract to leave his post as San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator.
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