Throughout the past two seasons going on their third, the Houston Texans have been led on the sidelines by the voice of head coach DeMeco Ryans, who came aboard as a defensive coordinator from the San Francisco 49ers, taking the reigns of three-win football team, and has since led this group to two-straight division titles in the AFC South.
It's been a major, and necessary, surge from the franchise in recent years, now going on their third-straight division title, and it all started with the hiring of Ryans into the fold to correct the course of the ship.
And for those that have seen the Texans' rise from the depths, such as Houston legend J.J. Watt, he's seen just how Ryans has taken this team to near the top of the AFC in recent years, going on to give some major praise to the third-year head coach.
Watt recently spoke about Houston's head coach and his impact during an appearance at the Texans' mandatory minicamp, crediting the start of the team's trajectory being on the rise being due to none other than Ryans' presence in the building.
"There is nothing that could’ve changed the trajectory of this organization more than [hiring DeMeco Ryans]," Watt said. "Now, obviously, you have to add the drafting of C.J. [Stroud], Will [Anderson], and the moves that they've made, but none of it happens without DeMeco at the helm. The personality he has, the culture he's built, the knowledge he has, it's been incredible to watch. And, I think that you see players coming here to play for DeMeco Ryans, because of who he is and what he's build."
Watt was there for Houston's good and bad times throughout his decade tenure with the team from 2011 to 2020. The Texans had six playoff appearances within that timeframe, with the best results from the club coming from his sophomore campaign in 2012 when going 12-4 on the year, though coming up short in the divisional round to the New England Patriots.
But with this new regime stamped in Houston, there's a road lying ahead that could lead to an even bigger ceiling on how far this team could go from when Watt was still suiting up; a lot of that due to Ryans' command and leadership since entering the building in 2023.
Now for the 2025 season ahead, the expectations are at some of the highest they've been for Ryans and Co. Time will tell if the Texans can meet that mark.
