DeMeco Ryans can guide turnaround with Texans, and Houston clearly believes it

DeMeco Ryans has been hired as the Texans head coach and, while it could be a long road, he’s being given the opportunity to turn Houston around.

As expected, the Houston Texans are hiring former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as their next head coach, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Ryans, who was drafted by the Texans out of Alabama in 2006, has been on the San Francisco coaching staff since 2017 after retiring from the NFL in 2015. He has been the defensive coordinator for the past two seasons to impressive results.

And it’s clear that the new head man in Houston is delighted with his new gig.

“Being the head coach of the Houston Texans is my dream job and my family is thrilled to be back in H-Town,” Ryans said, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston. I have been around the game of football my entire life and I’ve always had a natural ability to lead others.”

But now comes the hard part. Houston went 3-13-1 last year under Lovie Smith, needs a franchise quarterback and has roster holes galore. The good news for the Texans, however, is that they not only have a good starting spot to help the cause, but they are giving Ryans the runway to accomplish his goals.

Texans rebuild begins with DeMeco Ryans and he has the runway to do it

When you look at Houston’s current situation entering the 2023 offseason, they are in a position to make immediate and vast improvements. They have two first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft (No. 2 and 12) along with 11 total selections. It’s also a franchise that goes into free agency with nearly $50 million in cap space.

Are those moves going to solve all of the issues in Houston? No. However, the draft capital in particular does set them up to be aggressive or stand pat and get either Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud to be the quarterback of the future. Moreover, they can acquire young talent with the rest of their draft picks to start filling holes.

The critical part in all of this, though, is that general manager Nick Caserio and the Texans front office appear to be well aware that things won’t change overnight. Ryans is being signed to a six-year contract, which seems to speak to the fact that they believe he is the right hire to stick with through a rebuild and bring Houston out on the other side.

Whenever a coach, particularly a hot and coveted candidate like Ryans, is hired, it’s almost always feel-good moments in the immediate aftermath. It could be a rough year one for the new Texans head coach, even if the team is aggressive and adequate and their talent acquisition this offseason. Even if that’s the case, though, he’s being set up to build long-term, sustainable success.