Houston — The Houston Texans, who had a great 2023 season, are fortunate to have retained their coaching staff. The Texans have kept Cole Popovich, their assistant offensive line coach, on staff, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC. A number of teams around the league had expressed interest in Popovich, including the Washington Commanders, who conducted an in-person interview with him. Wilson claims that after renegotiating Popovich’s contract, the Texans decided to keep him.
While assisting Popovich, a number of young players had an effect on Houston’s offensive line. Among them was rookie Juice Scruggs, who assisted the Texans in defeating the Cleveland Browns 45–14 in the Wild Card game. Scruggs did not allow a sack or a pressure in 22 passing block snaps during the victory.
Bobby Slowik, the offensive coordinator, was one of the Texans’ standout coaches who had the option to leave the team this off-season. Coach DeMeco Ryans , nonetheless, managed to retain his team for the upcoming campaign.
After being considered for other head coaching positions, Slowik made the decision to go back to Houston and work with Ryans and Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud to continue the rebuilding process. Jerrod Johnson, the quarterbacks coach with the Texans, was another well-known applicant who was considering leaving in the off-season to take a position as offensive coordinator. But he went back to Houston for the same reasons Slowik did. The biggest blow to Ryans’ staff was the loss of defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire. Cesaire left after being cut by the Jets in January, although he has since joined coach Kevin Stefanski’s staff with the Cleveland Browns.
“It’s a credit to our staff and the success that we had throughout the year, and a lot of people are trying to see what’s going on in Houston, and a lot of people want to have interview requests,” Ryans stated. It’s kind of the nature of success, of course. When you’re successful, other people want to know what’s happening and most likely want to bring some guys along to assist them as well. Although it’s a challenging aspect, it’s necessary for the business.”
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