Texans Success All About What 'Doesn't Matter' Says Coach Ryans
The Houston Texans have stunned just about everyone outside of their city and fan base who never doubted the team was headed in the right direction when it hired DeMeco Ryans to be the next coach for the franchise.
To be fair, most thought the Ryans hire was a good one and was bound to lead to some good football from the Texans.
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans hugs safety Jimmie Ward (1) after he intercepted the ball against the Denver Broncos late in the fourth quarter at NRG Stadium.
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Nobody expected Houston to go from the second pick in the NFL Draft to the second round of the NFL Playoffs, however, but that's exactly what's happened. And it's happening, according to Ryans, because of the things that don't matter to the team.
“One quality that our team has is that word ‘team,’" Ryans said when asked what has made his team succeed so quickly. "It doesn’t matter who makes the play, it doesn’t matter when they make the play, but it’s everybody just [buying] in, everybody playing for each other – and that’s the biggest thing that I think garners success. Nobody is worried about who gets the honors, who gets the accolades. It’s truly – everybody cares about just winning and that’s what matters most.”
Some will argue that trust is the most important characteristic of a successful operation, and selflessness is a surefire way to build it in loads.
Having a roster of men who play for each other, but also with the understanding that no one star can win a championship by himself is the trademark of many successful NFL teams over the years.
If there's a third most valuable characteristic of a strong team, it might just be resiliency.
“It takes a lot of learning lessons just throughout the entire year to truly grow, to make you tighter," Ryans continued. "I think you learn best in those tough moments... We’ve seen that, we’ve seen how everybody responded through those tough times that we had, throughout some tough losses. But everybody continued to stick together, everybody continued to work, and that’s the reason why we’re in the position that we are in now.”
