Houston Texans fans haven’t had much to cheer for over the past two seasons. However, they may finally have a cause to back enthusiastically, even if the team is still going through growing pains.
According to Adam Schein from NFL.com, who listed his bandwagons to jump on in 2022, Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton made the list.
Hamilton has a strong reputation — in both college football and the NFL — as a bright offensive mind and quarterback guru. Last year only furthered that trend. While it was a tough season for the 4-13 Texans on the whole, one of Houston’s bright spots was rookie quarterback Davis Mills. Who was his position coach? Who was the Texans’ passing game coordinator? That’s right, Pep Hamilton, who has assumed offensive coordinator duties under new coach Lovie Smith. Hamilton will continue to develop Mills in 2022, especially with the eternally underrated Brandin Cooks as his WR1.
Houston is going to bite some teams this year. I predict Hamilton will maximize what he has on offense and then get head-coaching looks in 2023.
Hamilton has already begun to take advantage of the opportunity as he was one of two minority candidates the Texans presented at the NFL owners meetings May 23-24. Hamilton has already put himself in front of prospective employers. The challenge is to follow through and manifest that success on the field this season.
Texans receiver Brandin Cooks, who has worked with offensive minds such as Sean Payton, Josh McDaniels, and Sean McVay, can see the talent within Hamilton.
“Pep, he is special and a great mind,” Cooks told reporters on May 24 during organized team activities at Houston Methodist Training Center. “I’ve got a lot of trust in him and just trying to help him be right. We love going to work with him every day.”
The Hamilton bandwagon may be a bit bumpy, but should provide Texans fans with a few enjoyable moments en route to completing the rebuild.
