HOUSTON – The status of offensive coordinator Nick Caley and other staff members lacked definition Monday as Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said he’ll take this week to contemplate next steps.
Although the offense struggled mightily at the start of the season during an 0-3 start as Caley implemented his New England Patriots style system and had a rocky playoffs, progress was made during the season as the first-year play-caller gained a comfort level and built a rapport with players.
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League sources predicted that Caley is regarded as likely to be back and added it would be a surprise for the Texans to go one-and-done with a highly regarded young coach just as he’s growing into the job. If the Texans move on from Caley, that would mean three offensive coordinators heading into Ryans’ fourth season as head coach.
“With the coaching staff, with our players and asking about contracts,” Ryans said Monday one day after a 28-16 AFC divisional round loss to the Patriots, Caley’s former NFL employer. “Coaches, players, I’m evaluating everything as we go throughout the week.”
If the Texans did throw a curve ball and moved on from Caley, there are several experienced play-callers available who have other job opportunities currently. That includes Mike McDaniel, Todd Monken, Joe Brady and Brian Callahan.
The Texans went on a 10-game winning streak, including a wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, after a 3-5 start. The Texans finished 13th in scoring offense, 18th in total offense, 14th in passing offense and 22nd in rushing offense.
A year ago with Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon operating as a hammer in the backfield and former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik who was replaced by Caley, they were 19th in scoring, 22nd in total offense, 21st in passing offense and 15th in rushing offense.
The Texans made strides overall with Caley in his first year calling plays with less predictability in the second half of the season.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who became the only passer in NFL history to have five fumbles and five interceptions during the same postseason, expressed support for Caley.
“Yeah, definitely. I love Cales,” Stroud said Monday. “I think there’s growth in our relationship, there’s growth in his ability to call plays, growth and DeMeco trusted him. Whatever our coaches decide, I love Cales and I’m rocking with him however long he’s going to be here.”
The offense sorely missed the presence of Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins during the playoffs loss to the Patriots. He’s the Texans’ most dangerous offensive piece. Tight end Dalton Schultz, who led the Texans with 82 catches and had a 42-yard reception against New England, was forced out of the game with a calf injury.
They were impossible to replace as the Texans rushed for 48 yards and Stroud was intercepted a career-high four times with one touchdown pass. The Texans had red-zone issues all season, going 1 for 4 in that category at Gillette Stadium.
“You don’t replace a Nico Collins,” Ryans said. “You don’t replace a Dalton Schultz. When you lose your top guys, as any team in this league, it’s going to be difficult. I think you got to see the Niners went through something similar too. It catches up with you. The best teams are going to advance, and the best teams are going to win the Super Bowl. You need your top guys out there.
“You need your top playmakers out there. We definitely missed Nico not being out there. Dalton, he made the huge explosive, when C.J. [Stroud] was able to scramble on the third down and find Dalton on the sideline. He made a huge play for us, caught another one there, almost got in the end zone. We definitely missed Dalton and we missed Nico. They’ve been two of our most productive players all year. In that moment, you look for other guys to step up and make plays for sure. But we did, we missed those guys.”
Beyond statistics, though, it’s about finding a steadiness for the offense.
It was up-and-down overall.
“Not where we want to be necessarily right now,” Caley said during the final week of the regular season. “There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but I don’t believe that you can just turn it on. I think the league’s too hard. I think there’s too good of players, too good of coaches to just say, ‘I’m going to flip the switch.’
“My assessment of myself, I look at everything. What would I have done differently? Where could I be better at? I always try to do that. I think it’s no different than we talk about the players, about improving and growing. I’m my hardest critic and I want to do right for this team.”
Pass protection improved for the Texans as Stroud was sacked a career-low 23 times during the regular season after a career-high 52 sacks a year ago. That led to the firing of Slowik and offensive line coach Chris Strausser and replacing them with Caley and promoting offensive line coach Cole Popovich with a run game coordinator title.
Stroud and the Texans became the fifth team since 1990 to make the playoffs after an 0-3 start. And Stroud and DeMeco Ryans emerged as the fourth quarterback-head coach due in NFL history to make the playoffs each of their first three seasons.
“There’s a lot of things that can be fixed,” Stroud said Monday. “I think that’s an area that we tried our best. I think when you have injuries, you have different things, and then you have a new system, you’re still trying to find your identity throughout the year. So, what we were running in the playoffs wasn’t what we were running in Week 1. It’s a whole different offense because it just changes.
“I think those things need to be fixed, and they’ll be addressed. It’s not just on Cales, so I want to nip that in the bud right now. It’s on me as well. It’s on everybody. It’s not just me and him. It’s everybody. But it starts with me, and then it goes to him. It starts with everybody. So, it starts with us, too. I’m not going to put it on him. I’ll raise my hand and say me. So, those things will be fixed and we’ll be able to be better from that.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com