After posting a three-win season in 2022, the Houston Texans quickly flipped their culture around and posted ten wins in 2023, winning the AFC South and defeating the Cleveland Browns in a playoff game.

Offensive Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud and Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr. both played key roles in the franchise turnaround, but plenty of credit has to go to second-year head coach DeMeco Ryans.

Ryans always held the potential to be a great coach, but he used his first season in the driver’s seat to turn the franchise in the right direction. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year for the Texans in 2006, and he brought a similar energy to his head coaching role with the team.

With the NFL in the dog days of the offseason, waiting for training camp to kick off, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin ranked the 32 head coaches in the NFL. Ryans was ranked No. 13 after his inaugural campaign in the NFL as a head coach.

The No. 13 ranking leaves Ryans in the “Class A” group.

“These coaches are not flawless, and some are under more pressure than others, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any team who wouldn’t rush to hire them if they were available, given their strengths,” Benjamin wrote of Class A.

Stroud winning a playoff game as a rookie quarterback was impressive, but Ryans, a first-year head coach, also picked up the big win. He proved quickly to be the right hire for the job. The franchise is in good hands as the potential Super Bowl window is now open.

“Ryans had been deemed a future head coach as far back as his days roaming NFL turf as a linebacker, and he delivered on the promise in his first year guiding Houston, ceding the offense to Bobby Slowik and MVP-like rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, while maximizing youngsters on his preferred side of the ball. Meeting even loftier expectations, perhaps with more aggressive in-game calls, is the next challenge,” Benjamin wrote.

There’s not a shadow of a doubt that Ryans was the right hire for Houston’s head coach, and he now rolls into 2024 with an even more talented roster to combat increased expectations. The Texans are going to be a team for every NFL fan to keep an eye on, and Ryans’ ability to build a strong culture is at the center of it.