Every team strives to have a great coaching staff that can be the backbone of an organization for years to come. It’s not just the head coach that must impress, but position groups, coordinators and even the medical staff should be up to par.

The Houston Texans in recent years have begun to check that box after the firings of Bill O’Brien, David Culley and Lovie Smith. In two seasons, they’ve checked multiple boxes despite having questions in certian spots.

Most isn’t all. It’s nowhere near that number, which is why ESPN’s Ben Solak has questions on the staff as a whole under first-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley headed into the upcoming season. Entering Week 1 of preseason play, Solak ranked each team’s staff for the 2025 season and he put the Texans at No. 12 behind the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

In Solak’s rankings, he notes that while Ryans is perhaps the league’s most “underrated coach,” having a new play-caller after an abysmal stint with Bobby Slowik does lower the overall outlook for the roster.

“What, then, does Caley bring to the offense? I like him on paper — a Patriots lifer with a dash of McVay in his system spells a nifty offense. The problem facing him is clear: The Texans couldn’t get opposing defenses out of shell coverage last season,” Solak wrote. “C.J. Stroud attempted 50% of his passes against two-deep defenses, the sixth-highest rate in the league. The running game wasn’t good enough, and the offense lacked fresh designs to counterpunch such coverages.

“There are a couple of ways to skin that cat — heavier personnel, tighter formations, better screen execution, more quick game. Should Caley find a couple of answers, expect this offense to leap right back to 2023 levels. But of course, it’s never that easy. Starting running back Joe Mixon is already dealing with a foot injury of uncertain severity. Caley’s job is as tough — and as important — as any other coordinator’s this season.”

Surprisingly, the Minnesota Vikings took over as the new No. 1 staff after their 15-2 season with Kevin O’Connell calling the shots. The Chiefs (No. 2), 49ers (No. 3), Ravens (No. 4) and Rams (No. 5) rounded out the top-five, largely due to having one trusted cooridinator calling the shots.

Since Ryans also serves as the Texans’ primary defensive play-caller, it’s hard to move the Texans up higher until seeing Caley in action. That should change if Caley, who spent last season under the wundekind Sean McVay can emulate a functioning offense for Stroud to see the Texans garner a single-digit next to their name.