Kollar To Lead Defensive Line for Texans, Change Defensive Playbook

Changes in the Texans’ playbook are sure to be seen this season, due to changes in the defensive line coaching staff, especially with the addition of Bill Kollar, the new assistant head coach/defensive line.

Head coach Gary Kubiak said in a January interview with a Texas reporter that the team needs to show improvements on the defensive line.

“I think we have to get better,” he said. “I think we have to continue to build around him (defensive end Mario Williams) and… get better defensively as a group. If we do that, I think our football team will get better.”

The Texans’ most reliable defensive player last year was defensive end Mario Williams, who alone bagged nearly 50 percent of the team’s sacks last season. His record last season also included four forced fumbles and six tackles that caused a loss of yardage for the opposing offense.

To effectively develop the current defensive linemen into a stronger level of play, Kollar will have to pull plays from the hats he wore while previously working with the Atlanta Falcons and the St. Louis Rams, teams that both made trips to the Super Bowl while Kollar was the defensive line coach.

Defensive end Tim Bulman has already started to get a taste of the impending change that Kollar will bring, during organized team activities earlier this week. He described the type of play Kollar expects of those on the defensive line in an interview with USA Today.

“What (Kollar is) looking for seems to be my style of play," Bulman said. "I play every play to the whistle, I go non-stop. I'm giving you everything I've got and I'll never stop.”

This non-stop play may be just what the Texans need, to see improvement on the defensive line.