Report: Syracuse OC Jeff Nixon interviewed for same job with Houston Texans

Syracuse offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon could potentially return to the pros. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Nixon interviewed for the open offensive coordinator job with the Houston Texans.

Nixon brings several years of NFL experience and was most recently a running backs coach with the New York Giants in 2023. He also spent three seasons with the Carolina Panthers from 2020-22, even taking over as the interim offensive coordinator in 2021.

Nixon was also previously the offensive coordinator at Baylor from 2017-19 under Matt Rhule before joining the coach’s staff in Carolina.

This past season, he helped the Orange to rank second in the ACC in total offense and fifth in scoring offense. Syracuse finished with a 10-3 record, marking only the second time in the past 20 years that it has reached double digit victories.

The Texans are coming off of a 10-7 finish in the regular season and lost to the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. In addition to Nixon, the franchise also conducted an interview with Jerrod Johnson, who was been Houston’s quarterbacks coach since 2023.

If hired, Nixon would replace Bobby Slowik, was fired as the Texans OC this offseason after two seasons.

NFL fines Kris Boyd for throwing helmet, viral confrontation with Texans coach

Before Saturday’s AFC Divisional Round matchup in Kansas City got underway, Houston Texans defensive back Kris Boyd was going viral. Following the opening kickoff, Boyd threw his helmet and got into a confrontation with one of his coaches, special teams coordinator Frank Ross.

Boyd is now literally paying the price for the moment. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL is fining Boyd just over $8,000 for the altercation.

“The NFL fined #Texans CB Kris Boyd $8,056 for unsportsmanlike conduct — throwing his helmet after the opening kickoff, leading to a sideline confrontation with special teams coordinator Frank Ross in last week’s playoff loss at Kansas City,” Pelissero said via X.

Boyd did not play too much for Houston this season, spending most of his time on the special teams unit. When the Texans were resting players in Week 18, Boyd did get some run at defensive back but returned to his role in the playoffs.

He recorded 21 special team snaps against Kansas City, being 81% of the overall snaps. Two tackles were recorded too — both improvements from the Wild Card matchup against Los Angeles.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.