Houston Texans Icon J.J. Watt: 'DeMeco Ryans Should Be Coach of the Year'
Houston Texans icon J.J. Watt tweeted a simple message Sunday, saying "DeMeco Ryans: Coach of the Year."
Ryans has guided a Texans team that won 11 games the previous three seasons combined to a 7-5 record in his first year at the helm, allowing them to be in the thick of a crowded AFC playoff picture in December.
Watt later went into further detail in his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," stating that he believes that not only should Ryans be coach of the year, but the Texans are going to be in it for the long haul.
"I think that DeMeco should be coach of the year," Watt said. "Really really exciting stuff happening in Houston and I think it's going to be exciting for a long time."
J.J. Watt and DeMeco Ryans embrace on the field after a game during the 2022 season.
USA Today
So why has Ryans been so successful?
According to Watt, while the first-year head coach has done a great job at developing the culture, his new coaching staff has also played a major role in turning the franchise around.
"In this league, if you get put in a good situation with a good coaching staff ... who has the right mindset ... who has the right knowledge base ... who can get that information across to you properly and get you to understand it and implement it, that's when you're successful," Watt said of Ryans' coaching staff.
"And this coaching staff, it starts with DeMeco and it trickles down through his whole staff. These guys have the ability to take their knowledge and wisdom and pass it to the players in a way that they understand it and then also give them confidence. And these players are just building that confidence week after week."
It's obviously helped Ryans that general manager Nick Caserio and he appear to have selected a franchise-altering draft class this past April, with quarterback C.J. Stroud, edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., and receiver Tank Dell all looking like stalwarts for the team.
However, the ability to change what had been a toxic culture in Houston so quickly is probably the most impressive feat achieved by Ryans and his coaching staff in 2023.
Gone, at least for the time being, are concerns about the McNair family's ability to preside over a competent organization. They now have one of the best young coaches in the sport and enough young talent that they are likely only at the very beginning of an extended window of contention.
One area of concern for Ryans and the Texans has to be having a succession plan for first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.
While Slowik may not get a head coaching job this offseason, he's certainly on the radar of teams and if Stroud continues to look like a star under his tutelage, he probably won't be long for his current post.
A major challenge that coaches with defensive backgrounds face -- see: Sean McDermott, Mike Tomlin and Bill Belichick, among others -- is always having a capable replacement waiting in the bullpen when it's time to pick a new offensive coordinator.
