Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has no plans to change offensive coordinators, even as the offense under Nick Caley continues to flounder.
"We're pressing forward with everybody that we have," Ryans said Tuesday, via DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN. "We're collectively all in this together."
Ryans changed offensive coordinators in the offseason, firing Bobby Slowik and hiring Caley in hopes of jumpstarting a group that was predictable and ineffective in C.J. Stroud’s second season. If anything, the offense has taken a step backward under Caley.
The operation, through seven weeks, has been unimaginative, hasn’t provided Stroud with easy answers, and can’t consistently keep drives alive. When the Texans face a defense that’s good at stopping the run, the product collapses. Monday night’s abysmal short-yardage calls, in which Caley insisted on calling runs into the teeth of the defense, even though his offensive line was getting blown off the ball time after time, highlighted an offensive coordinator struggling to adapt.
With the heat blazing in Houston, Ryans is shielding Caley from the fire.
"It all starts with me," Ryans said. "So, you guys want to point the finger at somebody, put it on me. That's my job, and ultimately, it's my job to get it fixed. So that's how it'll be, but we're rolling on what we have, and we got to just all do better. Got to coach you better. We got to play better. We got to execute better on game day. And look, as bad as it seems, I tell the guys at the end of the day, we're still one possession from getting that game."
The Texans have averaged 21.2 points per game (21st in the NFL) and 304.3 total yards per game (23rd) in 2025. They’ve converted 30.7 percent of third downs, 31st in the league, ahead of only the Tennessee Titans. Houston has scored 19 or fewer points in four of six games and been held to 10 or fewer twice.
Against any defense with a pulse, Stroud has struggled. The third-year QB earned an 81.8 completion percentage, six passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in Weeks 4-5 versus the Titans and Ravens but has a 58.0 completion percentage, three pass TDs and four INTs in his other four games -- the Ravens allow 32.3 PPG (32nd) and the Titans allow 27.4 PPG (28th).
The offensive line problems have magnified the issues in Houston, leaving the team with zero running game to speak of and Stroud under heavy fire. But those headaches aren’t getting completely solved in-season. It’s the coaches’ job to help overcome some of those shortcomings. Thus far, Caley -- and Ryans -- have failed in that area through seven weeks.