The Houston Texans are looking to get over the hump in the AFC and that makes every decision this offseason extremely important.
The little moves that can make all the difference between being a good and great team, though, and the Texans are expected to make one of those hires on the defensive coaching staff. Aaron Wilson of KRPC 2 in Houston is reporting that DeMeco Ryans and the Texans are expecting to hire Frank Okam as their new assistant defensive line coach.
Okam has been the defensive line coach at Toledo since 2023, but he has an extensive history with Ryans and the Texans, so he'll be a great person to bring in as Ryans looks to keep building a winning culture in Houston.
Houston has a young and talented team that has made the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs two seasons in a row now, but it will need to make all the right moves to overcome an AFC that features Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills and Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
The best move the Texans made with this regime was selecting the one-two punch of quarterback C.J. Stroud and pass-rusher Will Anderson at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the 2023 NFL Draft - and selecting Ryans as head coach was a great move as well.
Okam is from Dallas, Texas and played college ball for the Texas Longhorns. He was drafted by the Texans in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft and he spent two-and-a-half seasons in Houston, where he played alongside Ryans. He also knows defensive line coach Rod Wright well, as the two played together at Texas. Okam won a BCS National Championship with the Longhorns.
Okam's other notable coaching stops include stints as defensive line coach at Baylor under Matt Rhule and as the defensive line coach for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.
Okam knows the league, he knows the ropes, he knows the Texans and he knows how to win. If it goes through as expected, this will be a great hire for Houston.
