INDIANAPOLIS – In a league ultimately driven by an arms race, no NFL team wants to have a glaring need at the most pivotal position on the field.
It’s a quarterback league, and the Texans are in the enviable situation of having a talented quarterback heading into his third season as an established, legitimately effective passer.
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Imagine the Texans without the accuracy, poise and arm strength of quarterback C.J. Stroud. Under that scenario, it’s unlikely they would have won AFC South division titles and two combined playoff games over the past two seasons. While a relatively stagnant offense and Stroud dipped significantly last season one year after he was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, the Texans are confident that he’ll take a leap in his development next season.
The Texans fired offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and replaced him with Nick Caley, who witnessed greatness firsthand from his background and interactions with legendary retired New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
The new Texans offensive coordinator worked closely with prolific Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, a strong-armed gunslinger, as the tight ends coach and passing game coordinator under creative coach Sean McVay.
And the Texans fired offensive line coach Chris Strausser after Stroud was sacked a career-high 52 times during the regular season, the second-most in the league. Stroud was sacked eight times and hit 14 times overall in a playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The thinking is, if the play-calling is upgraded along with the play and blocking schemes of the offensive line, Stroud will go back on the high-level trajectory his career was on as a rookie.
Caley takes over an offense headlined by Stroud, who emulates Brady’s even-keeled approach and is an admirer of Stafford’s style of play.
Not everything about last season in terms of Stroud’s regression can be attributed entirely to Slowik’s lack of adjustments and how players lost confidence in him in the locker room, or the shortcomings of the offensive line. Stroud holds some accountability, too, for the issues that plagued the offense.
The Texans are strong believers in Stroud, and his work ethic. And Stroud plans to rededicate himself even more to improving this offseason. He has already been collaborating with Caley and having good conversations about the playbook and how to improve the offense.
“C.J. is a good player, he has to continue to improve,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said at the NFL scouting combine. “There’s things that he’s going to work on in the offseason. But the offseason is an opportunity for every player to improve their individual performance and get themselves ready for the season in front of them. So, C.J.’s done a lot of great things on a yearly basis. His first year, he did a lot of really good things last year as well. I think sometimes, that kind of gets lost in the shuffle there a little bit. So, alright, what happened last season? What can we learn from it as a team? What can he learn from it individually?
“In the offseason, here are the things that I’m going to focus on to try to make myself a better football. You get better at football by working, practicing, playing football. So, that’s your job and responsibility, and that’s what we ask of all of our players. So, I think C.J.’s motivated this offseason to have a good offseason, prepare himself to try to be the best player he can be once the season starts.”
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How Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud ‘grew tremendously’ even in one of those ‘tough years’
One year after being named to the Pro Bowl and becoming the third quarterback in NFL history along with Brady and Joe Montana to lead the league in passing yards per contest and touchdown-to-interception ratio, Stroud’s production went down to 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. That was seven more interceptions than his rookie season when he passed for 23 touchdowns and five interceptions with 4,108 passing yards in one of the statistically best first seasons of any quarterback in NFL history.
Although there was a decline in overall efficiency and Stroud occasionally held the football too long or, worse, began anticipating hits and, at times, throwing off his back foot while backed up in the backfield due to an onslaught of big bodies coming at him full-force, he made adjustments to the situation as wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell were out for the season with knee injuries. Even within the struggles, Stroud took steps forward and displayed toughness and a competitive streak.
That was another reason why the Texans decided to draft Stroud, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and All-American at Ohio State, with the second overall pick two years ago.
“For me taking over this franchise, I know that every team that’s here, if you want to win games and have a run deep in the playoffs then you have to have a quarterback to do that,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans. “That was the main focus for us, so it’s easy in the evaluation process of getting C.J. and seeing his talent and seeing the type of guy that he was. Ultimate competitor, true leader, his teammates loved him.
“He cared about his teammates, and that’s what stuck out for me. Not only getting a quarterback, but getting a guy who the locker room can get behind. Guys that feel his passion and feel his love for the game. He is competitive, he has the leadership and drive to be great and that’s what led us to getting C.J., and C.J. has done an outstanding job for us the last two years.”
Caley can’t wait to start working with Stroud, whose statistics declined last season while playing under heavy duress as he was sacked the second-most in the NFL behind Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams.
The collaboration between Caley and Stroud will be a critical element of the Texans’ big-picture outlook.
“He can spin it, he throws the ball,” Caley said during his introductory press conference. “He’s an accurate thrower of the football. He is a natural thrower the football. He’s instinctive. He’s got the It factor. And he’s a warrior in terms of his competitiveness. I’ve admired him dating back to his college days. So I’m really, really excited to have an opportunity to work with him.”
The emphasis for the offseason heading into a pivotal season: protect Stroud and get the maximum out of a talented young quarterback as Caley puts his personal imprint on the offense.
“We all know C.J. is a really great quarterback,” Ryans said. “So, it’s just about developing that relationship with C.J. and also just putting C.J. and everyone else around C.J. in the best position possible for us to move the football down the field and score points.
“I think Nick is going to do a good job of that, building that rapport, relationship with C.J. And I think C.J. is already a great player, it’s just getting everybody on the same page. We’ve talked about that communication all eleven guys being on the same page, we do that and, instantly, C.J. will be better.”
Heading into his next season, Stroud has completed 63.5 percent of his throws for 7,835 yards, 43 touchdowns and just 17 interceptions. A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and second overall pick from Ohio State, Stroud undoubtedly has a lot of big things ahead of him as he tries to get the Texans to a Super Bowl.
Stroud has two AFC South division titles under his belt and a pair of wild-card playoff victories.
Getting the best out of Stroud could be a difference-maker for a franchise that’s 0-6 in the AFC divisional round as the lone team in the conference to never reach the AFC championship game in the history of the team.
The chance to work with Stroud was a major selling point for Caley to accept the position after turning down opportunities in the past with the Patriots and the New York Jets.
“Really looking forward to working with C.J,” Caley said. “Tremendous talent, competitor, you talk about an ultimate competitor. Tough, instinctive and can make plays so I’m very excited. As a first-time coordinator, to answer the second part of your question, really excited to get the opportunity to evolve this scheme and it’s not going to be my spin.
“It’s going to be what’s best for our players. It’s always going to be what’s best for our players. We’re not pounding a square peg into a round hole. It’s going to be based on the strengths of our quarterback and the guys on this team. That is what it will always be designed around.”
Caley emerged as the Texans’ choice after a search that included several candidates. The Texans interviewed and gave strong consideration to the candidacy of quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, who also interviewed for the Jets and Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator positions and is being retained after the Caley hire, per league sources.
Caley interviewed for the Texans’ offensive coordinator job two years ago, but Slowik was hired from the same San Francisco 49ers staff that Ryans was a member of as their defensive coordinator.
The Texans also interviewed Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, Washington Commanders assistant head coach/passing game coordinator Brian Johnson, Minnesota Vikings assistant offensive coordinator and assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski, Texans senior offensive assistant Bill Lazor, Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis and Syracuse offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon. It was never confirmed if the Texans actually met with Chip Kelly, now the Raiders’ offensive coordinator, with a few sources saying they did speak with him. If the Texans had wanted to hire Kelly, they likely could have gotten that done.
Instead, they have hired Caley to rejuvenate an offense that dipped to 19th in scoring as they averaged 21.9 points per game and 22nd in total offense with an average of 319.7 yards per contest for a team that won its second consecutive division title under Ryans’ leadership.
Having a coach with Caley’s experience working in the creativity of the McVay system, an offshoot of the version of the West Coast offense first popularized by former San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh and adopted by Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan, is regarded around the league as a boost for the Texans’ outlook.
There will be familiarity for Stroud, who will speak the same language from a scheme standpoint as Caley. Caley is expected to put his own personal stamp on an offense in need of an overhaul and some new tweaks and wrinkles.
“He’s a special coach,” McVay said of Caley when he was contemplating interviewing for the Jets job he was viewed as a favorite to land if he had pursued the position that went to former Detroit Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand. “He’s done a great job for us. I love everything this guy is about. I think it’s really cool when these guys are offered opportunities to be able to elevate themselves and you want to evaluate all options.”
Source: Texans to interview Rams passing game coordinator-tight ends coach Nick Caley on Thursday
Caley was hired by Ryans with input from Caserio and other key members of the organization, including consulting with players like quarterback C.J. Stroud during the process. Stroud was sacked 52 times to rank second in the NFL as he passed for 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in a drop-off from his NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year numbers of 23 touchdowns and five interceptions.
The Texans’ offense regressed under Slowik, who struggled to make adjustments on the fly when his game plan wasn’t clicking, didn’t adapt the protection schemes to better protect Stroud, who was sacked eight times and hit 14 times overall in an AFC divisional round loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, and had lost the confidence of the locker room, including key offensive players as well as now-former colleagues on the coaching staff, according to league sources.
The Rams ranked 10th in passing offense last season as quarterback Matthew Stafford had 3,762 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
During joint practice session in training camp last August with the Rams, Stroud expressed his admiration for McVay and his offense.
“I am a super fan of his,” Stroud said. “The type of scheme he runs, the way he calls it, the way he uses guys in motion, and just a whole bunch of different things. He seems like a good guy and he just had some tips and pointers and also showed me a lot of love which I appreciated.
“I appreciate him more than he knows, just watching film and getting better from the stuff that he does in that offense along with Matt and those guys. It is definitely an honor just to know that he knows me, which is dope.”
Caley is a former Patriots tight ends coach who began his career as a student assistant at John Carroll, Caserio’s alma mater where he was a record-setting quarterback.
Caley’s first NFL coaching job was with the Patriots as an offensive assistant where he overlapped with Caserio. From that job, he was promoted to tight ends coach and spent one season coaching tight ends and fullbacks. He left New England in 2023 to become the Rams’ tight ends coach.
He was promoted to passing game coordinator before last season by McVay, one of the top offensive strategists and play-callers in the NFL.
Caley has previously interviewed for the Patriots’ offensive coordinator position.
He coached Gronkowski in 2017 who was named All-Pro that season. He has also coached Patriots tight end Hunter Henry, who praised Caley for his coaching acumen.
“Caley was one of my favorite coaches I’ve ever had,” Henry told New England reporters. “He’s a tremendous football coach and a tremendous person too. I got two years with him and they were a great two years. He helped me grow in so many aspects of my game.
“How I can see the game, how I can run different routes, do different things in the run game. He was a terrific coach and he’s doing great things over there too. I know he’s been a big asset for them over there. He’s still one of my favorite coaches I’ve ever had.”
Even in the setbacks, Stroud displayed signs of growth.
“I think we grew tremendously. I would say as a collective and personally,” Stroud said. “This year has had ups and downs, but I’m grateful for it all. It’s hard to learn on the mountaintop and in the wilderness. The valley is where you get your learning experiences. God is teaching you things at that time. This year has been one of those tough years. I learned more than ever that my rock is Jesus Christ. Whenever I hit rock bottom, I know I can lean on him.
“That’s what I’ve learned this year. To have another playoff win, there’s things to hold your head high for. I’m not going to hold my head down but, at the same time, it sucks to come out here and lose in the divisional round again. I’m super grateful for the tough and good times.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.]