“Nothing specific right now,” Ryans said Monday when asked about the possibility of making changes.
Houston faces the Tennessee Titans, also winless, this Sunday in Nashville before facing the 3-1 Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Offensive coordinator Nick Caley is in his second season with the team, while defensive coordinator Matt Burke has been on the job for the entirety of the Ryans era. Frank Ross has been the special-teams coordinator since the 2021 season.
When asked if he could take over defensive play-calling responsibilities at some point, Ryans didn’t say no.
Ryans was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 and 2022 before he was hired by Houston.
The first month of the season has not gone according to plan for the team, which was predicted by many to be among the top teams in the AFC. Up-and-down play has led the Texans to lose three of their four games by one-score margins, including Sunday’s 34-30 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Ryans said if Houston wants to get its first win of the season, it has to play complementary football. The special teams have to prevent explosive returns that put the defense in precarious situations. The defense has to set up the offense. The offense has to set up the defense.
“When we finally win a game, it’ll be complimentary football being played,” Ryans said.
The volatility of the offense and defense — and its impact on winning — in the first few weeks can be seen in something as simple as the scorelines. Houston lost 20-6 in Week 2 to the Cincinnati Bengals and 19-17 in Week 3 to the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans are 3-18 when they scored 19 points or less in the Ryans era, including this season.
But it goes the other way, too. The Texans’ offense has 30 points twice this season. Ryans said that those 30 points against the Cowboys were good enough to win the game, and that would have definitely been true last year. The most points the 2025 Houston defense let up was 30 points, and that came in a meaningless Week 18 game with its playoff position set and starters resting.
“For us, it’s easy to talk about last year,” Ryans said. “We’re here in 2026, we can’t do anything about 2025 here in 2026. For us to improve our team, improve our status of where we are right now, we all have to play better.”