Because there are only so many way to say "DeMeco Ryans is awesome" in a post here, and because there are hundreds of more Ryans posts to be written in the coming months, I'll just leave this video of DeMeco Ryans visiting team owner and matriarch Janice McNair in her home this weekend for you:
I'm not crying, YOU'RE CRYING!A special meeting for Coach Ryans and Mrs. McNair ❤️ pic.twitter.com/4Ud3ax5nJF
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) February 5, 2023
Okay, onto more Ryans analysis. Since the hire was announced last week, we've had an impressive Ryans press conference, interviews with several teammates, and a lengthy interview on my radio show with Texans general manager Nick Caserio. Additionally, we've had a throng of national media have to issue a mea culpa on their completely scattershot forecasts of Ryans accepting the Texans' head coaching role.
From all of that, I've come away with five notions that we can dispel and bury, regarding the hiring of Ryans and how things are going to be moving forward. Here we go:
"These two coaching trees can’t collaborate!"
Ever since Ryans' name entered the fray for the Texans' head coaching job, there was a presumption amongst even mild cynics that this would be a hire forced on GM Nick Caserio by the McNair family, that Caserio would want someone with a Patriots pedigree, and the marrying of the two upbringings, Caserio in the Belichick way and Ryans in the Kubiak/Shanahan way, would be awkward at best. Well, if Ryans press conference last week didn't put that to bed, I'll let Caserio himself, with audio from my show, do so :
Caserio_P_P_3_-_on_combining_his_and_Demecos_backgrounds.mp3
Because Caserio was likely giving David Culley advice over the headsets during games in 2021, there is a belief that Caserio wants it that way for every head coach he works with. The fact of the matter is that Culley NEEDED the help from Caserio (or honestly, any teenager who plays MADDEN on a regular basis) in game management situations. Again, I'll let Caserio address this one in this audio snippet from my show answering the exact question about what his role on game day will be:
Caserio_P_P_11_-_his_role_on_gameday.mp3
Because Ryans sued the Texans and NRG Stadium back in the mid 2010's, after his second Achilles tear on that surface (the first was in 2010, the second one was as an Eagle in 2014), many thought that Ryans would eliminate the Texans from contention before an interview even took place. Also, there was a belief that, because the team had been so dysfunctional the last three years, that Ryans would have said "no thanks" before an interview even took place, as well. As it turns out, Ryans is VERY fond of the McNairs and the lawsuit has been a non starter as a topic since he took the job:
DeMeco_on_TDSH_3_How_Impactful_was_Relationship_with_McNairs.mp3
I can tell you this — because the last two head coaches for the Houston Texans were fired after one season (because each one did a terrible job), the national media sure has been concerned that DeMeco Ryans gets a contract that will take care of him if the Texans get an itchy trigger finger again. Ryans, as it turns out, got a six year deal, which is on the long side for a first time head coach, and good for him. The national media celebrated this like Ryans can now sleep at night or something (I'll give you Shannon Sharpe, Chris Simms, and the team of LeSean McCoy, Joy Taylor, and Dave Helman as examples). Let me tell you, if I had to guess, the last person worried about the length of his deal is DeMeco Ryans. My guess is he is probably just thinking about how to win a Super Bowl, and would bristle at any comparison made to Lovie Smith or David Culley.
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
