The Texans are in the kind of bye-week stretch that invites a blame game, and that usually means the conversation shifts fast from players to the people on the sideline and beyond. The usual line is that you can’t fire the players, but that is not really how football works.
Players get cut, waived, released, demoted, and their roles change all the time. Still, the loudest debates rarely center on that.
They center on the coaches, and sometimes the front office.
That is where the Texans find themselves now, with a short list of people who could wind up taking the hit if the season keeps drifting the wrong way.
Cole Popovich is one of the first names that comes up. The offensive line has been a yearly complaint, and this season has not changed that.
Juice Scruggs was at one point the highest rated center in the NFL, yet he is now the starting center for the Lions, a team widely viewed as having one of the better lines in football. That kind of outcome raises obvious questions about what went wrong in Houston.
Popovich’s promotion from assistant to head offensive line coach did not come with a search that apparently included anyone else, which makes the whole move even harder to square.
Matt Burke is another name in the mix, though this one carries more hesitation. He is generally well liked, but it is hard to explain a defense going from one of the best in football to one of the worst in a single season without some kind of fallout.
The wrinkle here is that DeMeco Ryans is calling plays, and two of the three games looked a lot like the first four did. A move on Burke would feel less like a clean diagnosis and more like a team trying to do something to show accountability.
Frank Bush could also end up under the microscope. The Texans spent most of the last decade with one of the league’s best special teams units, and they still have one of the best kickers around.
But the punting game and coverage units have slipped badly this year. Bush is well liked, which matters in normal times, but bad seasons have a way of sending blame toward any area that has dipped in performance.
Then there is Nick Caley, where the conversation gets a little more complicated. On paper, the Texans’ offense sits in the middle of the pack or better in most major categories.
The two problem areas are running the ball and pre-snap penalties. How people judge Caley depends a lot on expectations and who is setting them.
Ryans clearly wants a team that protects the football and avoids negative plays, and the Texans have done that. But they are not a ball-control offense, and that mismatch keeps hanging over the discussion.
There are plenty of moments when the play calls draw the obvious reaction: “why in the hell are you running that play?” That usually comes when a slow-developing run is telegraphed to everyone in the building.
But the bigger question is whether that is really Caley’s offense by choice or whether he is operating inside a structure that wants something different. If he gets blamed and replaced only for the team to keep demanding the same kind of style, the Texans could wind up right back where they started.
DeMeco Ryans is also part of the conversation, though the idea of firing him after one bad season does not sit well with everyone. If he had coached better in games, this team might be sitting at 3-4 or 4-3, which would change the tone completely.
At the same time, he handled the Jacksonville game well and has shown an ability to keep the team engaged after slow starts. That only leads to another question: why are there so many slow starts in the first place?
The comparison that comes to mind is Gary Kubiak in 2010. Kubiak had an offense that ranked among the best by some measures, but the defense was one of the worst in football.
Ownership eventually forced Wade Phillips onto him, and the rest followed from there. Hannah McNair, described here as the real power behind the throne, could be the one who pushes the Texans toward a similar kind of intervention, especially with a quarterback making $60 million a year.
That could mean a change in style or more power handed to the offensive coordinator. Ryans is popular, and his first three years were successful enough that a firing seems unlikely, but a shake-up would amount to a clear warning.
Nick Caserio is the other major figure who could face pressure. The general manager gets the credit when things go well and the blame when they do not, and that is especially true when the roster is involved.
The trade for Marvin Harrison Jr. could still work out if he produces and lifts the passing game. But the obvious counterpoint is what else could have been done with that draft capital.
Could the Texans have used it on a defensive player who would have moved the needle more? Would a linebacker or safety have helped more?
That question will hang there because there is no way to answer it now.
Caserio is also tied to the roster construction and salary cap, and those areas are said to be in decent shape. What is less clear is how much say he has had over the assistant coaches.
The idea of buddy hires keeps coming up, and that could become another spot where Hannah McNair steps in and demands more control. He is also taking heat for three straight years of offensive line shuffling that has not solved anything.
Whether the issue is the players or the coaching, that part of the operation is not working. Like Ryans, Caserio may be safe for now, but he is not escaping the scrutiny.
In Other News...
Texans Run Game Issues May Force Another Backfield Move
Houstons running game has remained a concern through the 2026 season, and the Texans are still searching for a cleaner answer in the backfield as they prepare to face the Chargers. Their ground attack sits 29th in rushing yards per game, a ranking that has kept the pressure on the staff to keep looking for help, even if the fixes so far have been limited to workouts and evaluations rather than a move that changes the room right away.
Josh Pitsenbergers return visit was part of that process. The undrafted rookie, who had previously been released because of injury, was back in the building to take another look with the Texans, but he left without a contract, leaving the team to keep weighing its options. With the next game approaching, the Texans backfield picture still feels unsettled, and the search for a more reliable rotation appears far from finished. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Face A Growing C.J. Stroud Debate On Offense
Houstons offensive issues have started to swallow what looked like a promising start for C.J. Stroud, whose early-season play gave the Texans real hope that the unit had finally found its rhythm. Instead, the offense has settled into a frustrating pattern, with the running game struggling to take pressure off the quarterback and the line not giving the scheme much room to breathe. Head coach DeMeco Ryans has stayed publicly supportive of offensive coordinator Nick Caley, but the wider concern around the building is whether the current approach is asking too little of the defense-facing part of the roster and too much of Stroud.
Nick Caleys play-calling has become the center of the conversation because the Texans do not look like a team getting maximum value from their talent, and that puts the staff evaluation front and center. For a team trying to keep pace in a crowded AFC, this is no longer just about a slow stretch on offense. It is about whether Houston can keep waiting for the structure around Stroud to catch up, or whether the Texans eventually have to look harder at the coaching side of the equation to get the production they expected. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Face A Make-Or-Break Offensive Decision After The Bye
The Texans came out of the bye staring at a 2-5 start and a familiar kind of pressure, the sort that forces a front office and coaching staff to look hard at what is and is not working on offense. General manager Nick Caserio and coach DeMeco Ryans have already acknowledged that fixes are needed, and the conversation now turns to how Houston can get more out of a unit that has not found a consistent rhythm through the first stretch of the season.
One path is to put more on C.J. Strouds plate and let the passing game drive the offense with greater urgency. Another is to lean harder into outside runs, while also making better use of Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaylin Noel and Tank Dell, all of whom give Houston different ways to stress defenses. None of that guarantees a quick turnaround, but it does give the Texans a clearer sense of where the offense can be sharpened before the season slips further away. [Read more 🡒]