After a 3-13-1 season, the Houston Texans fired head coach Lovie Smith. As the Texans begin to prepare for next season, three early candidates to become Houston's next HC have been named.
Smith spent just one season as the Texans' head coach. His firing comes one year after Houston gave David Culley his walking papers after just one season. As the Texans look for a more long-term option at head coach, Houston has requested to interview 49ers' defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and Eagles' DC Jonathan Gannon, via Adam Schefter of ESPN. The Texans also requested to interview Philadelphia's offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
San Francisco had the NFL's best overall defense during the regular season, allowing 300.6 yards per game. Their rushing defense was dominant, as the 49ers allowed just 77.7 yards on the ground per game; second-best in the league.
Ryans is now in his second year as the 49ers' defensive coordinator. Before starting his coaching career in 2017, Ryans actually played for the Texans from 2006-2011.
The Eagles finished with the second best total defense in the NFL, allowing 301.5 yards per game. They excelled in the pass game, allowing just 179.8 yards through the air per game. Gannon is in his second season as the Eagles' DC. He's been both a coach and an executive in the NFL since 2007.
Gannon's counterpart Steichen helped lead Philadelphia to the third best offense in the NFL, averaging 389.1 YPG. They shined on the ground, averaging 147.6 rushing yards per game; fifth best in the league. Steichen is in his second season as Philly's OC. He has been an NFL coach since 2011 and previously served as the Chargers' OC.
All three coaches are young, up-and-coming stars in the NFL world. The Texans are hopeful that one of them could potentially lead their rebuild.
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