General manager Nick Caserio came from the New England Patriots dynasty led by Bill Belichick. New coach DeMeco Ryans spent his entire development as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan since 2017.
Although the two key figures in team development may have come from disparate backgrounds, Caserio believes he has ubiquitous values with Ryans when it comes to building a successful football team.
“I think we have a lot in common in terms of how we view players, how we see a football team, the things that we deem important,” Caserio said April 17. “I don’t want to say we talk daily, but we talk daily just about all those matters. I’ve really enjoyed my time with him in the short period of time.”
Ryans is the third coach in as many offseasons Caserio has been on the job. Despite the two and a half months the coach and general manager have spent together, Caserio has seen enough from Ryans to know what type of character and beliefs the 2022 NFL assistant coach of the year brings to the organization.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him as a person, as a football coach, his perspective, his view point, kind of what he brings to the table,” said Caserio. “I think he has solidified what we thought going through the hiring process, and we’re excited to build this together and just to build a good, solid, sound football team that plays well situationally that I would say the organization and the city can be proud of.”
Caserio acknowledged that building a team that can win more than four games in a 17-game season can be challenging. Nevertheless there is confidence that together with Ryans they can assemble a better team than before.
Said Caserio: “Is that easy? No. Is there one way to do it? Absolutely not. We’ve both had the good fortune of being in good programs and being part of good teams and understanding what good football looks like, so how do we put our stamp on the Houston Texans 2023. In the end, that’s the goal and the most important thing.”
What Ryans has to his advantage his predecessors did not is the No. 2 overall pick in a draft class stocked with blue-chip quarterbacks. Whether the Texans go with Alabama’s Bryce Young or Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Houston should be getting a critical piece to help their new coach last for more than just a season.