It is only natural for a running back to be excited when his team hires a Kyle Shanahan protege as their new offensive coordinator.
With new coach DeMeco Ryans came former San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik as the new Houston Texans offensive coordinator. The 49ers were known for their rushing offense with 4.7 yards per carry, tied for eighth-most in the NFL, and the eighth-most rushing yards per game at 138.8.
Second-year running back Dameon Pierce could not hold back his enthusiasm when meeting with reporters June 6 after organized team activities.
“Oh, the more ways I can get the ball, the better, baby,” Pierce said. “I love that. I love that. But, I’ve got a lot of great guys to look at. Most recently, probably Christian McCaffrey. He thrived last year in the league, in his offense he’s just getting out of the backfield, getting in the flat, catching hitches or whatever the case may be. There’s multiple ways to get a running back the ball.”
McCaffrey generated 159 carries for 746 yards and six touchdowns along with 52 catches for 464 yards and four touchdowns in his 11 games for San Francisco following a trade with the Carolina Panthers.
However, Pierce believes his teammates in Devin Singletary and Dare Ogunbowale can provide effective models on how to thrive in the new offense.
Said Pierce: “We’ve got a lot of great third down backs. A lot of guys that I can model my game after and a lot of guys that I can learn from.”
Nevertheless McCaffrey was the first to come to Pierce’s mind because of his production and working with Slowik with the 49ers.
“It just really exemplifies Slo’s offense, more specially, his cut ups with the option routes, the angles, the whip routes. ” Pierce said. “I’m not going to say too much because I don’t want to spill the beans too much, but, yeah.”
Pierce tallied 939 rushing yards and four touchdowns for the Texans through 13 games last season, finishing third in the NFL among rookies in rushing yards.
