Nick Caserio on DeMeco Ryans: 'He loves what he's doing'

The Houston Texans have everything going for them under second-year head coach DeMeco Ryans. After a 10-7 finish in year one, Ryans’ squad looks poised to once again take a step up in the overall AFC picture. A huge part of getting the Texans where they are from the 3-13-1 season they posted in 2022 has been the head coach’s energy on a day-to-day basis, general manager Nick Caserio explained this week on the Pat McAfee Show.

“DeMeco is just so consistent day-to-day,” Caserio said. “Everybody understands the expectation on a day-to-day basis. We see football through the same lens, so that helps. My job is just to support him as much as possible.

“The players respect the hell out of him because he’s so real. He’s passionate about what he does and he does it with enthusiasm. He loves what he’s doing. It’s important. They see that and they feel that.”

Aided by two back-to-back first-round picks, the Texans locker room has gone from bust to boom in record time. Caserio laid out the two rules Ryans established for his team off the bat, which seem to be serving Houston well so far.

“No energy vampires are allowed,” Caserio said. “We don’t have a lot of team rules. One is: protect the team, two is: no energy vampires. The coaches are going to give you the best that they have and that’s what we expect from the players in turn.”

Stephen A. Smith ignites Dallas vs Houston debate

All the moves the Texans have made in the past month have talking heads on ESPN debating who’s the greatest in the Lone Star State. Amongst the Texans’ biggest moves, they traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs, traded for running back Joe Mixon with the Bengals and signed edge rusher Danielle Hunter, the former Vikings star. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is the reigning NFL rookie of the year and he led the team to the AFC South division title and the second round of the NFL playoffs.

“You see down in Texas, down in Dallas, Texas, so what’s going to happen in Dallas Texas,” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take. “They’re going to sit up there and monitor this situation. And it’s one thing for you not to make the Super Bowl. That’s bad. And it’s another thing not to make an NFC championship game in 29 years. That’s even worse.

“But it’s another thing … (the Texans) have got the younger quarterback. … They have the better coach. And these brothas ain’t going to cost $60 million against the salary cap. They gotta pay CeeDee Lamb, You gotta pay Dak Prescott. You got to figure out a way to pay Micah Parsons. And all the Houston Texans are doing is saying ‘howdy, we’re here, you understand. We’re focusing on the right things.’ I’m just saying.”

The two Texas teams, the Cowboys and the Texans, face off in AT&T Stadium this season. The NFL has yet to release the date for the highly-anticipated matchup.