DJ Bien-AimeJul 26, 2025, 06:00 AM ETCloseDJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets for the New York Daily News. He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville.
You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show “Talkin’ Texans.”Follow on X
DJ Bien-AimeJul 26, 2025, 06:00 AM ET
CloseDJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets for the New York Daily News. He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville.
You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show “Talkin’ Texans.”Follow on X
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HOUSTON — Despite success for theHouston Texans’defense under coach DeMeco Ryans, the third-year coach says the unit is back to square one — stating that last season was just that, last season.
“To me, every year I start over,” Ryans said. “So the previous two years, whatever that looks like, it doesn’t matter to me, because every year we have to reinvent ourselves. We have to create and mold and grow to see what the 2025 Texans will look like.
Just because the defense has been successful in the past — they’ve done a good job — that doesn’t just guarantee success today.”
The Texans finished top 10 in total defense last season and ranked among the league’s best in other categories, but as far as 2025 goes, they are back to the basics.
The offseason has centered on fundamentals. While the offensive side of the ball has seen a complete revamp this offseason — highlighted by replacing offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik with Nick Caley — the defense will rely on its continuity. The only notable change was replacing safetyEric MurraywithC.J.
Gardner-Johnson, whose six interceptions last season (tied for third in the NFL) helped aid thePhiladelphia Eaglesto a Super Bowl win.
Even some of their offseason signings involved former Texans, such as defensive tackleSheldon Rankins(2023) and cornerbackTremon Smith(2021-22).
With the luxury of tangible familiarity, defensive coordinator Matt Burke has emphasized fundamentals to master the basics during the spring.
“We always like to sort of, like, reset when we come back in the spring,” Burke said. “I actually put this up in one of the meetings. The three most dangerous words in the vernacular, ‘I got it.’ We always like to start back at the fundamentals and the foundation and then build.”
After the first day of training camp this week, defensive endWill Anderson Jr.
was asked about how the defense builds on a strong 2024, and his response was that it’s “all mental.”
“Everyone making sure they’re locked in on their playbook, making sure they’re locked in on their keys,” Anderson said. “How much are we watching film? The coach has been doing a really good job of taking things day by day, making sure everybody’s locked in on their jobs. What exactly are we doing, asking questions and just quizzing everybody and making sure everybody knows what the job is.”
Source: Espnnfl
.
