INDIANAPOLIS – Texans coach DeMeco Ryans’ coaching roots are with the San Francisco 49ers following his playing background as a Pro Bowl linebacker.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio is a longtime former New England Patriots executive who earned six Super Bowl rings as a lieutenant to Bill Belichick.
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Now, the newly-formed coach-personnel team are working in tandem with the Texans as they attempt to turn around an AFC South franchise that has gone 11-38-1 over the past three seasons.
Ryans has injected hope and enthusiasm about a team that has struggled on the field and lacked continuity with the coaching staff after one-and-done seasons with Lovie Smith and David Culley preceded by the firing of Bill O’Brien.
Since the Texans hired Ryans and signed him to a six-year contract, his collaboration with Caserio has been characterized as extremely positive both publicly and behind the scenes.
“It’s been awesome working with Nick, we hit the ground running,” Ryans said at the NFL scouting combine. “There haven’t been many breaks or much rest. We’ve hit the ground running and Nick is awesome to work with. Nick is a very knowledgeable guy and I’m happy to be a part of a team that has a GM in place who has so much experience, a guy that I can bounce ideas off of.
“He’s seen it done many ways and seen a lot of different players. Just having his knowledge and his experience has really been very beneficial to me. I’m excited to work with Nick. It’s been a very smooth transition, a smooth process. Communication has been awesome working with Nick. We see the game the same way and see players the same. It will be really nice to continue to work with him.”
Ryans and Caserio collaborated on assembling a coaching staff that includes offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, defensive coordinator Matt Burke and special teams coordinator Frank Ross. Now, they’re working together on a pivotal offseason. The Texans have more draft capital than previous years, including the second and 12th overall selections, and salary-cap space to use on free agents.
It’s been a whirlwind for Ryans to get up to speed in his new job. And he and Caserio are working together smoothly so far.
“It’s been awesome,” Caserio said. “He’s been very open-minded, very thoughtful. We take our time and really want to think through decisions as we assemble the coaching staff. That was a big part of it. We’ve had a lot of open communication. There’s been a lot of dialogue. We actually met as a staff offensively and defensively and went through their evaluation. We gave them some free agents to look at. We wanted to hear the staff’s thoughts,
“DeMeco has his thoughts, I have my thoughts and we’re really going to try and blend everything together here as we’re going through. He’s been great.”
During the hiring process, Caserio got to know Ryans and they hit it off. Since then, he has seen how relatable and personable the former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year is during their daily interactions.
“Everything I heard or knew about him beforehand has come to fruition,” Caserio said. “He is who he is, so that’s the one thing you want to see. The things that you experience during the interview process, then you’re actually able to see that up close and personal. It kind of matches. It’s been great.
“The honeymoon period is probably over here a little bit, and now we have some work to do. It’s been a lot of fun to come to the office. The staff has been great to work with to this point. We know we have a lot of work in front of us. Nothing is going to happen overnight, but it’s been great to have him around.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
