Ryans’ energy, new mindset turn around Texans
HOUSTON — Demeco Ryans was in high school when a coach told him if he wanted to make a career out of football, he’d have to show great energy on every single snap.
Ryans took that message to heart.
Now in his first year as coach of the Houston Texans, he’s demanded his team display the same relentless mindset. It’s transformed the Texans from one of the NFL’S worst teams to a spot in the divisional playoffs Saturday at top-seeded Baltimore, where a win will put them in the
AFC title game for the first time.
“That always resonated with me, like man, when you suit up, you got to do something that’s different. Do something that others aren’t willing to do,” Ryans said. “A lot of people aren’t willing to run, play with great effort, play as physical as they can play every single snap …
So, when you do it, and you have an entire team that does it, it jumps off the tape and people all around the league truly respect what you do.”
Ryans returned to Houston this season after being drafted by the Texans in the second round in 2006, winning AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and spending his first six seasons as a linebacker with the team. He’s made the team relevant for the first time in years after the Texans had combined for 11 wins in the previous three seasons under three head coaches and an interim coach.
Bill O’brien was fired after the Texans opened the 2020 season
0-4, and Romeo Crennel finished the 4-12 campaign. David Culley came next and was let go after a 4-13 season in 2021 before Lovie Smith went 3-13-1 last season before being fired.
Though there was a buzz when Ryans was hired last January, few outside of the building expected the new coach to turn things around so soon.
The Texans, who won the AFC South, were predicted to finish last in the division, and oddsmakers put their over/under on wins at 6½. But those inside NRG Stadium could already see brighter days ahead with the hiring of Ryans, who spent the previous two seasons as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator.
Jon Weeks is Houston’s long snapper who is the longest-tenured player on the team and spent his first two seasons in 2010 and 2011 as a teammate of Ryans. He saw the shift as soon as Ryans took over.
“It was instant,” Weeks said. “The hiring of coach brought so much new energy into the building, and then what he and (general manager) Nick (Caserio) were able to do with the draft, bringing in all the young talent … I think we all knew that once we started rolling and once we started clicking that we had something that could be special.”
The 39-year-old Ryans is often seen jumping around and screaming on the sideline after a big play, looking more like one of the players celebrating than a coach.
When cornerback Steven Nelson returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown in Houston’s wild-card win over Cleveland on Saturday, highlights showed Ryans running down the sideline behind Nelson before dropping into a crouch and raising his arms high above his head when he crossed the goal line.
That energy, players say is infectious.
“When he was a player, he was a guy that you wanted to play with, you wanted to go out and do your job for him because he came with so much energy,” cornerback Kareem Jackson said. “And it’s the same way now with him being a coach, the energy that he brings, his positivity, his aura, you want to play for a coach like that. It makes it easy to come in and execute and want to be here.”