Battle Red Blog
As the NFL regular season moves towards its conclusion, there are two types of teams. They are those preparing for the playoffs and those preparing for the next season. Yet they both have some similarities. In particular, this time of year starts the game-within-the-game: the great coaching shuffle. For those teams that aren’t playoff-bound, they are likely to jettison personnel. In this case, that generally means firing coaches. By doing that, this creates new job opening. Historically, that means that the teams that didn’t make it to the playoff chase are going to fill their open positions by raiding the ranks of the playoff teams, especially their assistants. The hot-shot coordinator of the playoff-bound team of today is likely the head coach of tomorrow.
By virtue of their current 9-2 run, the Texans find themselves firmly in the playoff chase. With their percentage chance to make the playoffs ranging between 80 and 98 percent, mid-January football seems a certainty for the Texans. However, there is also the chance that several on the Texans’ coaching staff might find themselves sought-after commodities on the open NFL job markets. This would not be a completely new phenomenon for this iteration of Houston. Going 29-22 over 2+ seasons, to include 2 Division Titles and 2 playoff wins will do that to an organization. In 2023, then offensive-coordinator Bobby Slowik found himself a popular man, interviewing for the head coaching job for at least two organizations. He did not get those jobs, and well, the less said about his performance in 2024 and what befell the Texans’ offense, the better. From this Houston Texans’ coaching staff, likely those that lead the rather ferocious defense will get those interview calls. The 2025 Texans rank #1 in the points and total yards allowed. That many of these performances came against teams like the LA Rams, the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs only enhance the reputation of those defensive coaches.
Foremost among the most sought after Texans’ coaches would be current defensive coordinator Matt Burke. He has been the defensive coordinator the entire time under the Ryans regime. However, his stock rose significantly when Ryans turned over defensive play-calling to Burke before the Titans game, when the Texans entered that game 0-3. While the defense wasn’t bad before that move, Ryans’ decision seems like a no-brainer now. The team is 9-2 since, with the defense surrendering more that 20 points only twice in that stretch. The long-time defensive coach has never gone beyond a defensive coordinator role, but if the Texans’ defense continues this level of play, Burke might get a few calls to interview for a head coaching gig. Maybe he is not the QB guru, which tends to be the top target for HC hires, but that won’t stop calls to the Most Interesting Defensive Coordinator in the World.
It is not just the DC that is up for a coaching promotion. The position coaches, such as Defensive Line coach Rod White and Secondary...
