Texans’ Ryans, Pats’ Vrabel have turned around former teams

Houston — during Demeco Ryans’ first season as coach of the houston texansHe was unexpectedly stopped by a fan in a grocery store.

The exchange was brief but memorable. The fan told Ryans he has started watching Texans football again. The success and new energy the former Texans linebacker brought to Houston drew them back.

The fan admitted that for years he couldn’t stand the losing – an 11-38-1 run from 2020 to 2022 that pushed many away. That moment stuck with Ryans, revealing why he returned to lead the franchise that drafted him in 2006: to restore pride, confidence and relevance to Texas football in the city he once represented on the field.

“I popped on one [conference] Call up, and I put my name out and then hear the reaction,” Ryans said Friday. “People are really happy with what these guys are able to do on the field and win football.

“It changes the landscape of the city and how people feel. We can provide some joy to our community. That’s one of the main reasons I came back.”

Ryan is on the verge of another success for the franchise. after demolished pittsburgh steelers At 30–6 in the wild-card round, Houston advanced to the divisional round for the third consecutive season, reaching something it had never reached before: an AFC Championship Game.

The Texans (12-5) will travel to face new England Patriots on Sunday (3 PM ET, ABC/ESPN), trying to stop an 0-6 slump in the divisional round and push the organization into uncharted territory under Ryans’ leadership.

But Ryans won’t be the only coach in the matchup revitalizing the team he once starred for.

After going 4-13 in consecutive years, Mike Vrabel led the Patriots (14-3) to their first division title since 2019, and their first winning season since 2021.

Vrabel is the Patriots’ third coach in as many seasons. New England fired Jerrod Mayo after one season last January. He was also a former player and replaced the legendary Bill Belichick, who led the franchise to six Super Bowl titles from 2000 to 2023.

Vrabel was asked Friday about his transition from player to coach and whether it’s difficult knowing he can’t physically help them on the field.

“You have to be so confident that you’ve helped them get to the game, prepared them and done everything you can to put them in position to be successful,” Vrabel said.

Vrabel played with the Patriots from 2001 to 2008, earning All-Pro first team honors in ’07 and helping them win three Lombardi Trophies. He was also inducted into the Patriots Ring of Honor, and like Ryans, he has a strong sense of pride for his former franchise.

Vrabel said, “I think it’s an honor to coach in this league. I do it.” “You get a lot of opportunities. And to be able to do it here, I think, is special and meaningful.”

As a player, Ryans was an All-Pro and Pro Bowler, and helped Houston capture its first AFC South title in 2011. That season ended with the franchise’s first playoff win – a win. cincinnati bengals – but texas lost Baltimore Ravens In the divisional round.

Now, Ryans has his sights set on finally getting the franchise and the city out of the proverbial crisis.

“I watched from a distance, the organization was kind of in a bad shape. There were a lot of negative news about the organization,” Ryans told ESPN. “I was like, man, if I can come back and really impact this team, impact the organization, impact the city in a positive way where people feel proud to be in Texas again, because I felt that way as a player. I just wanted to reestablish that.”

When asked how much his pride as a player influences his coaching, he said, “It’s everything, man. That’s why I’m passionate about it.”

This will be the third divisional round matchup between head coaches since 1970 who also played for their respective franchises. two other examples were New York Jets (Walt Michaels) Vs. oakland raiders (Tom Flores) and the Raiders (Art Shell) vs. the Bengals (Sam Wyche).

When Ryans was introduced as the new coach of the Texans, he stepped into a building where his history loomed large, the feeling around the team was different. Photographs from his playing days (2005–2011) adorned the hallways and auditorium of NRG Stadium, where he addressed the media for the first time as the leader of the franchise.

That day he called it his dream job.

“I know the people of Houston are yearning for a successful football team,” Ryans said. “Everyone across town loves football.”

Even though he ended his playing career with philadelphia eagles (2012–2015) and spent six seasons san francisco 49ers (2017–2022) – First as a linebackers coach, then as a defensive coordinator – Ryans never stopped favoring the franchise that drafted him.

“Everyone has developed their own mentality,” is correct. titus howard told ESPN. “He’s taken everyone’s game to another level by being here.”

This was the first time this season that the Texans did not win the AFC South under Ryan’s leadership. In Ryan’s first season, it looked like things would continue on the familiar losing path from the previous several campaigns, but the Texans turned it around after an 0–2 start.

This season also saw massive changes. Houston became the seventh team in the Super Bowl era (1966) to clinch a playoff berth after an 0–3 start. And the Texans did it thanks to Ryans’ calling card: defense.

“Shoot, I think everyone knows we’re the best defenders,” Security. calen bull Said after Texas’ wild-card win on Monday. “The whole world knows it. Every time we go out there, we show it and we went out there and showed it today.”

Beginning of The season was not so easy for Vrabel and the Patriots either. They started 1-2, but then they took it on quickly – winning 10 in a row. As a result, the Patriots dethroned the reigning MVP josh allen and this buffalo bill – who had won five straight division titles in the AFC East.

When asked what brought Vrabel back to New England and why he felt it was a special place, his answer was simple: “The history of wins and championships.”

But he knows his teams have to make their own path.

“The banners that are hanging in our stadium aren’t going to help us win, but I think it’s a great reminder of what it takes to win and what type of people we have to have in the organization – the unselfishness, the work and the sacrifices that you have to make,” Vrabel said before the season. “So, for me, they’re great reminders of what it takes.”

Now, sitting as the No. 2 seed, Vrabel, whose NFL coaching career began in Houston when he was the linebackers coach in 2014, and his Patriots are set to take on the fifth-seeded Texans after defeating New England. los angeles chargers 16-3 in the opening round.

Before working with the Patriots, Vrabel said what he experienced in the locker room as a player in New England remains the standard for what he hopes to achieve as a coach when he gave his Patriots Hall of Fame speech in 2023.

“We held each other accountable because there was a trust, there was an understanding, there was a respect that you could say the things that needed to be said to each other,” Vrabel said. “I try to recreate it every day wherever I train. I don’t know if we’ll be able to achieve it or not, but every day, I’m going to try because there’s nothing more important than the team.”

NFL Nation reporter Mike Reiss contributed to this report.