Texans' DeMeco Ryans Takes Over Defensive Play-Calling Duties amid 0-4 Start

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans announced Wednesday he is assuming play-calling duties from defensive coordinator Matt Burke.

This comes as the Texans have dropped their first four games and allowed an average of 343.8 yards and 27.3 points.

Houston's defeats in Weeks 1 and 4 have been particularly tough to stomach given the performance of quarterback C.J. Stroud. He threw for 621 combined yards and four touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys, and that was all for naught.

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Letting Burke be the defensive play-caller worked out great for Houston in 2025. The team allowed the fewest yards and second-fewest points in the league.

But this isn't the first time Ryans acted decisively toward one his coordinators in the face of poor results.

Bobby Slowik generated a lot of head-coaching buzz during the 2024 hiring cycle for his work with the Texans offense. The following offseason, Houston fired him altogether as offensive coordinator after the unit went backwards.

As much as Ryans wants to say otherwise, many will see Wednesday's move as a reflection of Burke's work and how he's being evaluated internally. You don't diminish the role of a coach who you think is doing a good job.

And now Burke is put in a tough position because any improvement from the defense is likely to be credited to Ryans more so than him.

At the same time, Ryans can't worry about the optics if he genuinely believes this is a strategy that will benefit the team.