HOUSTON — You won’t catch Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans doing a lot of yelling at players from the sideline unless he is calling out defensive plays. He leaves that up to his assistant coaches, like linebackers coach Chris Kiffin who can be heard clearly from across the field talking to his position group.
Yet, on Tuesday, Ryans could sense that the energy of his defensive unit was low, and he didn’t like the vibes they were giving off. During the second team drills of 11-on-11, linebacker Christian Harris deflected a pass intended for tight end Dalton Schultz from quarterback C.J. Stroud on the drive’s first play. Harris could hear his head coach yelling at his teammates as he returned to the defensive huddle.
“Someone make some noise for your teammate,” Ryans said, his voice elevated with his arms in the air. “Someone makes some noise for the play that was made.”
“Today on defense, the energy just wasn’t there,” said Texans HC DeMeco Ryans when I asked him about telling his players to get more excited about plays being made. “That is not who we are going to be on defense. That is not our style of play.” #Texans #Sarge @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/xFtgnoxkCL
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) August 9, 2023
It was a side of Ryans that most media members and fans that have attended training camp practice have not seen from him. Still, his past experiences as a player and coordinator have shown him when he needs to let players know his fierceness and passion for the game.
“Well, today on the defense, the energy just wasn’t there,” Ryans said. “That’s not who we are going to be on defense. That’s not our style of football. If it’s not there and nobody else is going to say anything, I’m going to let the guys know how we play defense and what’s our style of defense.
“We’re going to play with enthusiasm. We’re going to be excited when our brother makes a play. That’s what I want to see every single time we’re out here on the field because there’s a lot that goes into making a play. When you see a guy make a play on the ball, attacking the ball, doing what we ask him to do, I want to see guys excited about that.”
Ryans attitude and approach to the game and making his team better is what his players respect about him, no matter how he gets his message across.
“Anything that comes out of his mouth is not BS,” said Texans defensive lineman Jonathan Greenard after practice on Thursday. “He’s going to give it to you straight.
