The Houston Texans have not had an easy go of it early in the 2025 campaign, and things got even worse for them when they suffered a 27-19 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football in Week 7. After a season full of offensive struggles in 2024, the unit has looked even worse through six games this year, and all eyes are turning to new offensive coordinator Nick Caley.
After the team took a big step back on offense last season, the Texans promptly fired Bobby Slowik and hired Caley as his replacement. Instead, Caley appears to have only made things worse, and after the team’s loss to the Seahawks, head coach DeMeco Ryans addressed his new offensive coordinator’s future with the team.
DeMeco Ryans Has No Plans to Fire Nick Caley
Houston has had one of the more confusing arcs of any team in the NFL over the past couple of seasons. After moving on from Deshaun Watson, the Texans seemed to find their new quarterback of the future, C.J. Stroud. As a rookie, Stroud turned in a mightily impressive campaign, earning Pro Bowl honors and the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
While the team kept on winning in 2024, things were not as easy for them as they were the year before. Stroud’s numbers took a big step back, even though he played in two more games than he did as a rookie, and while the team advanced to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, they opted to fire Slowik in hopes that Caley could get their offense back on track.
Instead, the Texans’ offense has continued to look miserable. Stroud is struggling to find open receivers, due in large part to the fact that the offensive line simply cannot protect him. The ground game also has gotten nothing going, with Nick Chubb and Woody Marks filling in for the injured Joe Mixon to begin the year. Simply put, it’s a mess, but Ryans quickly shut down the notion that he’s considering firing Caley after just six games in charge of the offense.
“We’re pressing forward with everybody that we have,” Ryans said on Tuesday. “We’re collectively all in this together.”
Should the Texans Fire Nick Caley?
GettyHouston Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley looks on before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It’d be really tough to justify firing Caley, considering how controversial the move was to fire Slowik in the first place. Beyond the fact that it’s only been six games, the likelihood that Houston will find someone who can magically fix its offense at this stage of the season is very low. Chances are, Caley will be given at least one full season to see if he can figure things out with the Texans’ offense.
It’s clear a lot of fixes are needed, though, and it remains to be seen if Caley is capable of getting this unit on the right path. The offensive line is single-handedly destroying both the run and pass game, and unless the players up front start playing better, it’s tough to see things improving moving forward. Regardless, with rumors of Caley’s exit being shut down, Houston will look to get back in the win column in Week 8 when it squares off against the San Francisco 49ers.
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