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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/krbashrob on 2026-03-17 19:18:18+00:00.
INTRO:
Before anything: Here’s a link to the hub so you can check out other peoples’ work!
Side note: I had to cut a good bit of this post due to character count but I tried to keep it as thorough and in depth as possible.
If you like woefully inconsistent, more often than not bad offensive football, but absolutely brilliant defensive play- the 2025 Houston Texans were your cup of tea. I’ll try to be as unbiased about this as possible, but I am a Texans fan and as such, there was things I liked and even more that I disliked about the Texans 2025-2026 season.
To start, here is how the Texans 2025 season ended overall:
-Record: 12-5 (including 9 wins in a row to end the season)
-Result: Divisional round loss at NE
2025 Offseason Review- Coaching Staff:
The staff largely remained intact going into 2025. HC DeMeco Ryans overseeing everything and his fingerprints firmly on the defense. DC Matt Burke helping to install and run the defense. And most position coaches returning.
Coaching Staff- Departures:
-OC Bobby Slowik- The big thing to start with here is the departure from the West Coast/Shanahan scheme under OC Bobby Slowik who had great results with this team in 2023 and was generating potential HC buzz to a rather underwhelming 2024 in some ways. Slowik had many positive qualities. Among them, the ability to recognize when things weren’t working and change or adapt. He also just knew how to get the ball to guys who needed it (specifically, Nico Collins and to a lesser degree, Joe Mixon). Slowik also had his flaws. A really poor pass protection plan in year 2 (which ironically I would say was not as big of an issue in year 1), and an inability to establish a consistent ground game. Both were big parts of his departure, along with reportedly butting heads with CJ Stroud and Stroud wanting more control at the LOS which really isn’t a feature of West Coast Offensive systems that feature the center setting protections.
-OL Coach Chris Strausser- Tbh I don’t know why this guy didn’t retire before the 2024 season. He was apparently already mulling it over and his track record wasn’t great to begin with. A LOT of fans and media have pointed to him for the high pressure/sack numbers despite having a relatively talented OL room in 2024, compounded by linemen saying they improved when then assistant OL Coach Cole Popovich got a bigger voice in the room.
Coaching Staff- Additions/Changes:
-OC Nick Caley- With roots going back to NE and more recently the LA Rams, I think a lot of people were really excited about adding him to this staff and injecting the creativity and efficiency of the Rams offense with the multiplicity of the classic NE schemes (more on this later). The big selling point though: giving CJ Stroud more ownership of the offense and more control at the line to adjust plays and set his own protections. He was brought in to “elevate the offense and take us to the next level,” per HC DeMeco Ryans and ownership. Caley cited his desire for the offense to be a group that “is physical and runs the ball downhill.”
- OL Coach Cole Popovich- Credited with a mid-season improvement in 2024, Popovich was promoted to OL coach following Strausser’s departure. A highly regarded assistant for many years (and viewed by the Pats contingent as the successor to Scarnecchia), Popovich had possibly the biggest task of the year in improving what was a very glaring weakness in the offensive line
- Assistant Jerry Schlupinksi
-DT position coach Frank Okam
Full 2025 Coaching Staff:
HC- DeMeco Ryans
OC- Nick Caley
DC- Matt Burke
ST- Frank Ross
QBs- Jerrod Johnson
OL/Run Game Coordinator- Cole Popovich
Asst. OL – Zach Yenser
WRs/Pass Game Coordinator- Ben McDaniels
RB/Asst HC- Danny Barrett
TEs- Jake Moreland
Offensive Assistants- Bill Lazor, Jerry Schlupinski, Pat Reilly, Asauni Rufus, Mike Snyder
DL- Rod Wright
DT/Asst. DL- Frank Okam
LB- Bill Davis
Asst. LB- Ben Bolling
DBs- Dino Vasso
Safeties- Stephen Adegoke
Def. Pass Game coordinator- Cory Undlin
Asst. ST- Will Burnham, Sean Baker
2025 Offseason Review- Free Agency/Trades:
As always, Caserio was active in the trade and free agent markets and the roster was rather different in 2025 than in 2024. Here’s a table of all draft pick trades made for ease of reading (I hope).
| Picks/Players Sent | Picks/Players Received |
|---|---|
| Laremy Tunsil + 2025 4th | 2025 3rd + 7th, 2026 2nd + 4th |
| 2025 5th (166) + 2027 5th | 2025 6th (179, 216) + 7th (255) |
| 2025 1st (25) | 2025 2nd (34) + 3rd (99) + 2026 3rd |
| 2025 2nd (58) + 3rd (99) | 2025 2nd (48) |
| 2025 3rd (89) + 7th (236) | 2025 4th (102, 142) |
| 2025 4th (102, 142) | 2025 3rd (97) + 6th (187) |
| 2025 6th (179) + 2026 3rd | 2025 4th (116) + 7th (224) |
| 2025 6th (216) + 2026 7th | 2025 6th (197) |
Significant Losses:
WR Stefon Diggs (FA)
LT Laremy Tunsil (TRADED with ’25 4th round pick to WSH for: 2025 3rd-round pick, 2025 7th-round pick, 2026 2nd-round pick, 2026 4th-round pick)
CB Ronald Darby (retirement)
OL Kenyon Green (TRADED to PHI for CJ Gardner Johnson)
Significant Additions:
WR Christian Kirk (TRADED from JAX for ’26 7th [ Originally Rams])
S CJ Gardner Johnson (TRADED from PHI)
OG Ed Ingram (TRADED from MIN)
WR Justin Watson
DT Sheldon Rankins
WR Braxton Berrios
DE Darrell Taylor
OT Cam Robinson (traded week 1)
Significant Retentions
DT Mario Edwards
DE Derek Barnett
RB Dare Ogunbowale
S MJ Stewart
CB Derek Stingley (Extended)
S/NB Jalen Pitre (Extended)
2025 Offseason Review- NFL DRAFT:
| Round (Overall) | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 (34) | Jayden Higgins | WR | Iowa State |
| 2 (48) | Aireontae Ersery | OT | Minnesota |
| 3 (79) | Jaylin Noel | WR | Iowa State |
| 3 (97) | Jaylin Smith | CB | USC |
| 4 (116) | Woody Marks | RB | USC |
| 6 (187) | Jaylen Reed | S | Penn State |
| 6 (197) | Graham Mertz | QB | Florida |
| 7 (224) | Kyonte Hamilton | DT | Rutgers |
| 7 (255) | Luke Lachey | TE | Iowa |
Fun fact: every player was selected with a pick that was not originally belonging to the Texans.
If you are interested in my full 53 roster projection and thoughts from training camp, here’s the link:
SEASON: I will preface this by saying most of my comments and focus will be toward the offensive side of the ball because that was where the majority of the problems for this squad existed and where most fans’ eyes and interests were.
PRESEASON
Preseason Week 1 @ Vikings 20-10 L- This was the first go around for our new offense and there was initially some positive signs of the new offense. Also some frustrating holdovers in petalites, etc.
Preseason Week 2 vs Panthers 20-3 W- This game really gave a lot of hope for the offense. We saw things like moving the launch point, an effective ground game, and getting the TEs more involved, positive signs from the OL in pass pro (and still some negatives too).
Preseason Week 3 @ Lions 26-7 W- Starters rested this game. Saw good things from rookie Graham Mertz in the passing game and second year RB Jawhar Jordan in the ground game.
REGULAR SEASON
Week 1 @ LA Rams 14-9 L- I was at this game and going back over the A22, it was every bit as painful as I remember. OL play was just a rough watch. As the position group that needed to improve the most from ’24 to ’25, a lot more was expected than was shown. Still several pre-snap mental errors, inability to win 1 on 1s, and continued struggles with stunts up front. Defense played well despite Stingley suffering an oblique injury early on and CJGJ being undisciplined. That said, we were still in this game by some miracle (the defense), and were driving down the field in the 4th when Nate Landman forced a fumble on Dare Ogunbowale that the Rams recovered and ran out the clock. Some key takeways I had for the offense: Route concepts were weird. A lot in the flats and routes to the boundary (CJ has historically been great over the middle and with medium distance throws). Backside of plays were mostly hitches or stick. Run game blocking was ok but poor climbing up to the second level and sustaining of blocks.
Week 2 vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-19 L – This was a heart-wrencher. Aside from a few chunk plays, the pass game was pretty dead for the Texans. 13/24 for 207 yards for CJ with a 8.6 average and 1 TD. There was a lot of miscommunication in the pass game, especially in the red zone. And in general, this game really started the red-zone woes for the Texans offense, which was a running theme all season and into the postseason. After the Bucs let Nick Chubb score intentionally to get the ball back and CJ got sacked on the 2pt attempt, the defense had a chance to put the game away but Henry To’Oto’o missed what would’ve been a game-deciding sack on Baker Mayfield on a 4th and 10 allowing him to scramble for 15 yards and a first down. The story of this gam…
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