Jan. 21, 2026, 6:49 p.m. CT

For those wondering if the Houston Texans will be moving off another offensive coordinator this offseason, don’t bet the house on it happening.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio said Wednesday that he anticipates first-year playcaller Nick Caley to get a second season running the offense when the Texans return to NRG Stadium next season.

“I think Nick learned a lot, [in his] first opportunity as a playcaller,” Caserio said. “I would say, offensively, probably the last two to three months of the year played pretty good football and did a lot of good things, so there was growth and improvement.”

Earlier this week, Texans coach DeMeco Ryan sparked a bit of controversy among fans when he said that he would be “evaluating everything throughout the week” when asked about Caley’s future, which echoed a similar feel to that of former coordinator Bobby Slowik in 2024.

While Caserio did say that nothing was final about any coach’s return, he mentioned that he and Ryans speak daily and felt he wasn’t speaking out of line when dicussing the long-term status of the former New England Patriots tight ends coach.

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.

“All of us are just trying to improve and do what we can to make the team and the organization better,” Caserio said. 

Caley replaced Slowik after an underwhelming second year running the offense with quarterback C.J. Stroud. Much to Caserio’s comments, the offense did improve after a vastly underwhelming start, which resulted in an 0-3 record and four-game stretch where Stroud never scored a red-zone touchdown.

While Caley’s offense never took a colossal leap forward, the unit went from 23rd to 20th in total yards (319.7 to 327.0) and 21st to 13th in scoring (21.9 points per game to 23.8). Perhaps the biggest win came in the team’s turnover ratio, which rapidly diminished from 19 in 2024 to just 12 in 2025 during the regular season.

But the playoffs are where Stroud and the overall struggles really reached a low for Caley’s faults in year one. Over a two-game stretch, Stroud tossed five interceptions, including four first-half turnovers in the divisional round loss to the New England Patriots. He also had five fumbles and three turnovers in a wild-card round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Stroud seemed to be on board with a reunion for Caley in 2026 after seeing regular-season improvements the team’s first 12-win season since 2012.

“Yeah, definitely. I love Cales,” Stroud said. “I think there’s growth in our relationship, there’s growth in his ability to call plays, growth and DeMeco trusted him.”

The Texans also expected to have offensive line coach Cole Popovich back for next season after his promotion led to major changes to the trench play. Behind a makeshift offensive line that saw 13 different combinations, the Texans only allowed 31 total sacks and 113 pressures, which ranked 20th in the league.

“Overall, I would say that group certainly improved,” Caserio said. “I think Cole did a phenomenal job with that group, him and Coach [Zach] Yenser.”

The Texans own the No. 28 pick in the upcoming NFL draft.