New Coach Effects: Houston Texans

Photo: USA Today Sports

Bill O'Brien was the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 until he was fired during the 2020 season. Since then, the team has gone through interim coach Romeo Crennel, and successive one-year coaches David Culley and Lovie Smith.

Smith's parting gift to the franchise was winning in week 18 to play Houston out of the first pick, leaving the team with the second pick in the 2023 draft. After a long coaching search, the team hired former San Francisco defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.

Houston's Changing Landscape

Of the teams changing their head coach, Houston has the most uncertainty. The four different head coaches in the past three years have left the team without clear recent tendencies to evaluate. Likewise, the change from Deshaun Watson to quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills, Kyle Allen, and Jeff Driskel has left the team a rutter-less ship with an unpredictable path.

The team has hired former 49ers colleague Bobby Slowik as his offensive coordinator in Houston, and his track record is likewise a very blank slate. Beginning in 2019, Slowik was the offensive assistant for the 49ers, culminating in his role as the offensive passing game coordinator in 2022. Slowik has no history as a play caller, but former San Francisco offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel successfully transitioned to a play caller from the Kyle Shanahan tree.

After all this uncertainty, the team is likely to draft a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft. The team was also linked to Jimmy Garoppolo, who was with Slowik in San Francisco.

Overall, there is much room for the Houston offense to grow. Houston was the least efficient offense in 2022, ranking worst in expected points added per passing drop back and 31st in expected points added in rushing attempts.

In 2022, Slowik's 49ers ranked fourth in expected points added per drop back and 11th in expected points added in rushing attempts.

While expectations are low in Houston, a creep back toward average will be a major progression for a team that was so bad offensively in 2022. Even a move from 32nd to 20th would boost the fantasy prospects of the skill position players.