After quickly and firmly establishing himself as one of the top assistant coaches in the NFL in only six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, DeMeco Ryans has returned to where his NFL journey started. When he took the job to become head coach of the Houston Texans, Ryans would be tasked with building a franchise in his likeness. And that's exactly why for years to come, this team will unquestionably be one to be heard from when determining who is representing the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Now of course, CJ Stroud deserves a shout-out here too. Stroud has been the NFL's best rookie this season, and one of the best rookie quarterbacks in recent memory, but DeMeco Ryans deserves just as much consideration for Coach of the Year as CJ Stroud is getting for Rookie of the Year. It shouldn't even be a question at this point. Ryans' return to the Texans sideline (this time as a coach) coincides with the establishment of an identity AND a contender in Houston.
It doesn't take much work to understand why the Houston Texans are 5-4 and the surprise team of the 2023 NFL season. All you need to do is spend fifteen minutes learning about who DeMeco Ryans is as a human being, and I assure you, everything else will fall into place.
DeMeco Ryans had a successful ten year career as a middle linebacker in the NFL. After spending six seasons with the Houston Texans — where he made two Pro Bowls, one All-Pro team, and won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006 after leading the NFL in solo tackles — Ryans spent the final four seasons of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. It was there, in Philadelphia, where Ryans was given the nickname “Mufasa,” because of how similar his overall presence and leadership qualities were to the powerful James Earl Jones-voiced character from the movie The Lion King.
“Mufasa” returns to “Pride Rock”
“I like the fact that this is my team,” Ryans told Zak Keefer of The Athletic. “And to have the chance to come back and help my team? I’ve always followed them. I heard all the negative things said about them, and this wasn’t just an opportunity to become a head coach, this was an opportunity to help my team.”
My God. I'm ready to go out there and play for the Houston Texans, and I've got two herniated discs, haven't played competitive football in well over a decade, and I'm not even a Texans fan. Just think about what the guys in that locker room are feeling when they get to go to work for DeMeco Ryans every day, becoming the living, breathing embodiment of Ryans' ‘Swarm' mentality, which has become “the backbone of his blueprint — a relentless, attacking style of play that would infuse newfound belief throughout the entire building,” according to Keefer.
“That’s what I wanted to imprint on the team,” Ryans told Keefer. “All teams don’t work the same. A lot of people don’t put the work in and just show up on Sunday. That wasn’t going to be us.”
And it hasn't been thus far this season. The Texans have been one of the most poised (again, thanks in part to CJ Stroud), disciplined, hard-working and no excuse teams I've seen on the field this year, and their win against the Bengals on Sunday was further proof of that.
Even without starting running back Dameon Pierce and #1 receiving option Nico Collins, the Texans went into hostile territory against the hottest team in the league and took care of business against the Bengals. And it's fitting, because what's happening with Houston right now feels awfully familiar to what we saw happen with Cincinnati in 2021. Sometimes, when it happens, it happens quick. And the establishment of the Houston Texans as one of the AFC's contenders for years to come could be happening right before our eyes.
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