The Houston Texans decided to invest in Pep Hamilton as their offensive coordinator in the first season with coach Lovie Smith.
Hamilton, who had previously been the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator under then-coach David Culley, who lasted only the 2021 campaign, is taking the reins as an offensive coordinator at the NFL level for the first time since 2015 with the Indianapolis Colts.
Guard A.J. Cann signed with the Texans after the Jacksonville Jaguars allowed their former 2015 third-round pick to hit the open market. What Cann has been able to gather about his new offensive coordinator through organized team activities is the level of knowledge and attention to detail Hamilton has.
“He knows his stuff,” Cann told reporters May 24. “He’s a very detailed coach. He shares a lot of information, but he makes sure we all know what we are doing, each and every day.”
Receiver Brandin Cooks has worked with top offensive minds from Sean Payton to Sean McVay, and the former New Orleans Saints 2014 first-round pick can tell Hamilton is unique.
“Pep, he is special and a great mind,” Cooks said. “I’ve got a lot of trust in him and just trying to help him be right. We love going to work with him every day.”
According to Cann, Hamilton deliberates over the details to ensure that everyone is working cohesively and understands the assignments.
Said Cann: “It doesn’t matter what it is. Something small going in. Something big going in. He’s going to make sure we have a meeting to make sure everyone is on the same page and that’s what you need in an offensive coordinator.”
The Texans are saddling up second-year quarterback Davis Mills — a Stanford product and of the David Shaw philosophy same as Hamilton — for the 2022 season. Houston is hopeful Hamilton’s attention to detail will help the Texans win more than four games, which has been their cap the past two years.
