Houston, Texas (PSF) - After firing Lovie Smith after only one season, the Houston Texans have hired their sixth head coach in franchise history, DeMeco Ryans.

On Wednesday afternoon, the organization made the hire official and signed Ryans to a six-year contract through 2029. Ryans finds himself coming back home to Houston, where he played linebacker for the Texans for the first six seasons of his NFL career. Ryans started all 16 games in five of his six seasons in Houston and piled up 636 tackles, including 43 for losses.

Before signing with the Texans to become their Head Coach, Ryans has coached and developed the best defense in the NFL for the past two seasons in San Fransisco with the 49ers. He took over the Defensive Coordinator position and defensive play calling duties from Robert Saleh after Saleh became the Jets Head Coach in 2021.

Over the span of the last two seasons, Ryans has had the chance to coach and develop several defensive studs such as edge rusher Nick Bosa, linebacker Fred Warner, and safety Talanoa Hufunga. One of the many exciting and optimistic parts of Ryans now being Head Coach means that he gets to coach the 2022 number three overall pick in cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. Seeing what Ryans did for San Fransisco’s defense in only two seasons has to leave Texans fans thrilled.

Another huge aspect that has to leave Texans fans encouraged that they finally have the right guy at the helm is that Ryans chose to be the next Head Coach for the Texans, even though they are about to enter a multi year rebuild and when he had another offer on the table. That offer being the Denver Broncos, who actually tried to sign Ryans as their Head Coach before having to ultimately trade for former Saints Head Coach Sean Payton. Ryans was Houston’s guy and front runner from the start and Houston was Ryans’ number one choice. A match made in heaven for the two sides.

If you have watched any 49ers game over the last two seasons, the broadcast probably has cut to Ryans at least multiple times during the game going crazy on the sideline and being fired up after a big play or stop has been made. This is normal for Ryans, as he was an unanimous All-American for the University of Alabama. In fact, this is where Ryans coaching roots stemmed from as his other former teammates called him, “Coach.”

Ryans knows how to lead and has been doing it for a long time. His infectious energy on the sideline with the 49ers rubs off on his players, as several of his former players took the time out of their day to be at Ryans’ introductory press conference. Ryans is a player’s coach, even though he is defensive minded which is what you look for in today’s NFL. You want someone who your players want to play their best for and give all their effort for while they know that you have their backs at all times. As long as Ryans is able to hire the right offensive and special teams coordinators (assuming that he will take over defensive play calling duties), Ryans will not be a hard sell for the players and someone they will quickly and easily buy into. Ryans will probably end up hiring at least one, if not multiple position coaches from San Fransisco, which only makes you feel even more optimistic as a Texans fan.

In terms of looking into the future with Ryans in charge, Houston currently holds the number two overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. A prime position to take the top quarterback on their draft board and hopeful next franchise quarterback unless another team trades up with Chicago. On top of this, Houston also holds the number 12 overall pick in April’s draft where they can land a stud receiver to pair with their next young signal caller for the foreseeable future. Not to mention, Houston also has the fourth most cap space in the league with $37M.

Ryans will attempt to build a competent roster in Houston and for the first time in franchise history, win a Super Bowl.