HOUSTON — As Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans approaches the field at Houston Methodist Training Center, he can hear the fans in the stands behind him applauding and chanting his name. A huge smile comes across his face as he waves towards the crowd and proceeds across the field to prepare for Day 8 of training camp.
Once he makes it to the other side, the smile vanishes, and he displays a business-like attitude as he is greeted by his assistant coaches and players, who know it is time to go to work. Since his playing days in the NFL and his time as a defensive assistant and coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, Ryans has had the persona of a winner, which exudes onto others in his presence.
“Anything that comes out of his mouth is not BS,” said Texans defensive lineman Jonathan Greenard after practice on Thursday. “He’s going to give it to you straight. I respect a guy like that. I can respect a guy who’s telling me – who might get in your face, who might say certain things that you don’t want to hear at the same time — but he understands what greatness is and understands how to get to it.
“I think when you have a coach like that, it changes the whole perspective because you feel bad to let him down. So, I just think overall, he’s a guy who understands and sees everything in these players and each of these individual players, he expects greatness, and that’s what he wants, and that’s what he’s going to get.”
“I am a guy that’s going to shoot it straight to the guys,” said Texans HC DeMeco Ryans on what type of coach he is. “I have a sense of urgency in my approach to coaching and I hope the players feel that.” #Texans #Sarge @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/YTNWEuzWNP
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) August 4, 2023
Since organized team activities, the players have gotten to know Ryans and have a better perspective on who he is, not only as a coach but as a person. Last week, Ryans celebrated his 39th birthday, and while he displays a stern demeanor on the field, he is like a gentle giant when he is with his kids, who showed up to training camp with signs wishing him a happy birthday. He played catch with his son before leaving the field with his family.
The Texans players and coaching staff is Ryans family as well, and as the head coach, he makes sure he is doing the best job he can to put them in the proper position to succeed. Even if that means he has to issue out tough love sometimes.
“I am a coach that’s going to shoot it straight to the guys,” Ryans told reporters Friday. “These guys have a limited amount of time in their careers, and we don’t know how long their careers will be. So, for me, I’m not going to sugarcoat it to a player to make him feel good. I’m going to tell players the truth whether they like it or not because I know in the end, they’ll respect me more by telling them the truth. And that’s the type of coach I am.
“If it’s good, I’ll let you know it’s good, and I’ll celebrate the good as much as I can — that’s what I want to do — spotlight as much good as possible. But we also have to make sure we are getting things corrected in a quick manner. We don’t have a lot of time — it’s a sense of urgency that we have a short amount of time to get things fixed and move on so we can be prepared to go play and play well. So, I have a lot of sense of urgency in my approach to coaching, and I hope the players feel that.”
