Nick Caserio Reveals Houston Texans' DeMeco Ryans' Attention to Detail During Bye Week

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio made the right call when hiring head coach DeMeco Ryans. He explained how Ryans' attention to detail sets him apart.

It’s taken only six regular season games, but Houston Texans fans can feel confident that general manager Nick Caserio has righted the ship with the hiring of head coach DeMeco Ryans and the selections of quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr.

Ryans has put himself in the middle of the Coach of the Year conversation by leading a Texans team with minimal external expectations to a 3-3 record. At the bye week, they are in the thick of the AFC South race and a legitimate contender for an AFC playoff spot.

It’s fairly well-documented that Ryans brings with him an ability to rally the troops and play winning football—a carryover from his time with the San Francisco 49ers offense.

Ryans encouraging his defense against the Baltimore Ravens / USA Today

Caserio spoke on Texans Radio about another thing that sets the first-year coach apart: his attention to detail.

“Demanding, but fair,” Caserio said. “Consistent, very knowledgeable, and very clear and concise about what the standard and what the expectation is in terms of your role, in terms of your assignment, what you’re asked to do on a day-to-day basis.”

A significant part of Ryans’ mantra, if you will, is improving week-over-week. That has been epitomized by Stroud’s constant improvement and firework-inducing start to the season, but fans can feel confident it is resonating elsewhere, too. The offensive line’s competency amidst unfathomable injury luck is yet another example.

Caserio admitted that Ryans can get on guys at times -- in a justified manner. It’s clear that highlighting mistakes is truly for the team’s well-being and not an inability to take accountability.

“If it wasn’t important, we wouldn’t emphasize it,” Caserio said. “And when you do it incorrectly, you need to get it fixed. The players that show the propensity to get things fixed, then you can trust them, you can count on them. If you do something undisciplined … as a coach, you’re wondering ‘what the hell is going on?’”

Football is so often won along the margins and on the plays that don’t seem important pre-snap. One player taking a rep off can lead to an explosive play or turnover that ultimately sinks his team’s chances on that given Sunday.

With the league’s fifth-best special teams unit (by defense-adjusted value over average), fans can rest assured that no stone has been left unturned. This is an administration that is relentless in its pursuit of development and has done enough to raise Houston’s floor.

They’ve already matched last season’s win total, and every sign seems to be pointed upward. Development isn’t linear, and surely there will be bumps in the road, but there’s little reason to believe Ryans can’t lead this group through adversity, either.

“I think DeMeco is real and honest and truthful and fair,” Caserio concluded. “He’s more than fair, and he’s competitive, and he wants to win.”

Ryans and the Texans will have their next chance to win in Week 8 against the Carolina Panthers, the lone team to pick before them in last year’s draft.