Sources: Texans expected to hire former Raiders, Panthers assistant Frank Okam as assistant defensive line coach

HOUSTON – The Texans are expected to hire Toledo defensive line coach Frank Okam as their new assistant defensive line coach, according to league sources.

A former Texans fifth-round draft pick from the University of Texas, Okam has long-standing connections to head defensive line coach Rod Wright as his teammate with the Longhorns and was also teammates with Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, a former Pro Bowl linebacker, in Houston.

Okam, 39, who played for the Texans, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers after being drafted in 2008, has coached the Las Vegas Raiders and Panthers defensive lines previously. He has coached Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby and standout defensive linemen Brian Burns and Derrick Brown in Carolina.

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At Toledo, Okam coached first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection Judge Culpepper who led the team with nine sacks.

Okam got into coaching in 2014 initially as a graduate assistant at Rice working for coach David Bailiff before being promoted to defensive line coach and then being hired at Baylor by Matt Rhule as defensive line coach and going with him to Carolina.

Okam is a former All-American and All-Big 12 selection who won a national championship with the Longhorns in 2005.

In the NFL, Okam, listed at 6-foot-5, 352 pounds, played in 25 career games with six starts and recorded 33 tackles, five for losses with one fumble recovery.

At Texas, he had 160 career tackles, 28 tackles for losses, 10 sacks, a forced fumble five fumble recoveries and 12 deflected passes.

A former Parade All-American, Okam ran the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds and was ranked the second-best defensive tackle in the country as he chose Texas over Oklahoma, Florida, Oklahoma State and Stanford. He had a 3.9 grade point average at Lake Highlands in Dallas where he was an all-state and all-district selection who also played basketball and was a state finalist in the discus throw.

At the NFL scouting combine, Okam had one of the highest scores in the Wonderlic at any position.

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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.