Two AFC teams have filled their head coaching positions, and one of them snagged a top assistant from the NFC West.
The Houston Texans, who have fired three head coaches in as many seasons, may have finally found the long-term answer. Ex-Texas linebacker DeMeco Ryans has quit his job as defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers to return to Houston as head coach. Ryans has agreed to a six-year deal and will be tasked with revitalizing a team that has won just eight games in the past two seasons.
From 2006 to 2011, Ryans was a star player on Houston’s defense, including two Pro Bowl selections and All-Pro honors in 2007. After retiring from the Philadelphia Eagles, Ryans entered the coaching ranks in 2017 as an assistant to the 49ers and became a member of the linebackers’ coach in 2018. When Robert Saleh took the job with the New York Jets, Ryans took over the DC role and the 49ers’ defense was ranked 7th by DVOA in 2021 and number one this year. San Francisco gets a 2025 third-round comp pick because it was a minority pick for a head coaching position.
Meanwhile, former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton is en route to Colorado to coach Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos. Because Payton’s contractual rights belonged to New Orleans even after Payton left the team, the Broncos gave up their 2023 first-round pick (acquired from the Dolphins in the Bradley Chubb deal) and next year’s second-round pick, earning a 2024 third-round pick next to Payton.
I don’t have to tell you Payton’s story because you already know that he won a Super Bowl and famously lost to the Seahawks 7-9 as a double-digit favorite. He’s the greatest manager in Saints history and a brilliant attacking mind. Denver was an absolute disaster in 2022, resulting in the Seahawks earning fifth place overall, and the undisputed primary focus for Sean Payton is fixing Russell Wilson after having the worst year of his career. We’re either getting something close to old Russell, or an irretrievably old Russell Wilson.
For those of you who have long wished for a world where Wilson is coached by an established offensive mind and not by Pete Carroll or a legendary incompetent like Nathaniel Hackett, this is your moment. The Seahawks can’t squeeze any more picks out of the Broncos even if they tried, so any attention we give Denver from this point forward isn’t tied to Seattle’s draft picks. Hopefully Wilson can turn things around because I don’t want his career to end like this.
The Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts are now the only teams without a new head coach.