Texans Signal Confidence in OC Nick Caley Moving Forward

It looks like the Houston Texans will be confident in running it back with offensive coordinator Nick Caley for the 2026 season.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio was asked about Caley's status on Houston's staff for 2026 during his end-of-season presser, where he confirmed that their offensive coordinator would be on for a second year.

“I would anticipate Nick [Caley] being here next year,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said. “All of us are just trying to improve and do what we can to make the team and the organization better. I think Nick has grown a lot."

"It was his first opportunity as a play-caller. I’d say, offensively, probably the last two, three months of the year, played pretty good football and did a lot of good things. So, there was growth and improvement.”

Nick Caserio Confirms OC Nick Caley Will Return for 2026

While there was some initial buzz speculating whether the Texans would want to retain Caley after an up-and-down year on the offensive side of the ball, the prevaling assumption was that Houston would give their first-year coordinator another year to improve and work alongside DeMeco Ryans.

Caley was hired during the 2025 offseason following the Texans' firing of previous offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, and despite the first few games of his time in Houston being a bit turbulent, he wound up helping this offense become more refined as the season progressed.

Under the first year of Caley's play-calling, the Texans finished the regular season as the NFL's 13th-best scoring offense (23.8 PPG), 18th in yards per game (327.0), and 19th in EPA per play (-0.05), but also tied for the NFL's sixth-lowest offensive touchdown total (33) on the season.

Yet, in a year where the Texans had to remanufacture virtually the entire offensive line in front of C.J. Stroud, tweak their run game without the presence of Joe Mixon, implement multiple new weapons in the passing game like Christian Kirk and Jayden Higgins, while also having to roll with Davis Mills in three games due to Stroud's concussion, it made for a pretty successful first year of Caley's tenure guiding this offense, all things considered.

Jul 24, 2025; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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Of course, the Texans' season ended with a far from ideal performance on the offensive side of the ball. Against the New England Patriots, C.J. Stroud's four interceptions and the backfield's 2.2 yards per carry in the run game might've just been what kept Houston from advancing to their franchise's first-ever conference championship appearance.

Rather than making a sudden change, the Texans and their front office are confident that the necessary strides on the offensive side of the ball can come without having to ditch Caley after just one season, which could then leave Houston searching for a third offensive coordinator in four years.

Expect Caley to run it back as the Texans' offensive play-caller for another season, with a full offseason ahead to optimize his play-calling, albeit with a bit more pressure on his shoulders from when he came onto the scene one year ago.

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