The media got their first look at what coach Anthony Weaver will be as the new Houston Texans defensive coordinator.
The Houston Texans made a significant offseason change by promoting defensive line coach Anthony Weaver to defensive coordinator after their 2019 season came to a close in a disappointing 51-31 defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Weaver is the third defensive coordinator in the Bill O’Brien era after having Romeo Crennel for two stints and Mike Vrabel before he took the head coaching position with the Tennessee Titans. Weaver met with the media through a video press conference set up by the Houston Texans and gave a lot of insight into how the defense would look moving forward
Weaver’s coaching influences before becoming Houston Texans defensive coordinator
Weaver has an interesting background being brought onto the NFL coaching scene as an assistant defensive line coach with the New York Jets under Rex Ryan’s tutelage. It’s fair to highlight that O’Brien’s choice in two of his defensive coordinator in Vrabel and now Weaver; both formed part of Urban Meyer’s coaching staff in college, and were former NFL players before taking up careers as coaches.
Weaver didn’t fail to mention the impact head coach Urban Meyer had in his start in coaching at the college level in Florida, and how it prepared him for the opportunity of becoming a defensive coordinator for the Texans.
"“I met with Coach Meyer, Urban Meyer, who’s been another influence on me. I’ve known Urban Meyer since 1996, 97. When he found out I had gotten this role he said, ‘Weave, you’re out of the suggestion business, and you’re into the decision business.’ Those words carried a lot of weight to me. So, that’s probably been the biggest transition; I just know that I have the final say and I’m always going to try to do what’s best for the team."
Weaver also spoke of the influence Rex Ryan had in his career as a player and as a coach.
"“As a very young player, he [Rex Ryan] always prompted us to learn the big picture and learn all of the stuff that was happening around us, just because he thought that would enable us to make some more plays. That’s something that I try to continue to convey to the players I have now. That obviously helped me in terms of once I got into coaching professionally, I was probably ahead of most players that jump into the coaching carousel.”"
Incoming offseason additions for the Houston Texans
Weaver was particularly excited on getting the opportunity of coaching the incoming defensive players from the 2020 draft class.
"“I’m excited about all these guys, particularly the ones that we drafted, Ross Blacklock, Jon Greenard, John Reid. Those are guys that have played some significant snaps and have played well in college, and we expect them to come here and to contribute because they have the three qualities that we talk about all the time: guys that are dependable, guys that are tough and guys that are smart. They have those attributes, and if you have those things, then you have a chance to come in and come in and play early.”"
Weaver was convinced that the Houston Texans got two high-quality defenders in Ross Blacklock and Jonathan Greenard with their 40th and 90th selections.
"“Starting with Ross Blacklock, he was a guy that from a measurable standpoint had all the attributes that you’re looking for. Then when you watched him on tape, he was twitchy, he was instinctive, and he found the ball. You can’t teach instincts in this game. Jon Greenard was a guy that you could see doing a bunch of things for us, and I think position flexibility, particularly in the defense we’re trying to institute, adds a tremendous amount of value. He’s a guy that can rush off the edge, can rush inside, can drop into coverage, and when you can wear that many hates, that poses a lot of potential problems for an offense.”"
The Texans made it a point to improve the interior of their defensive line after D.J. Reader’s departure, and Blacklock could offer the defense an interior pass rusher that was much needed heading into the offseason.
Evaluating Houston Texans pass rusher options
Weaver added he expected the Texans to be able to implement multiple pass rushers on the defense for this upcoming season.
"“The beauty for me is that I’ve got to find ways to put them in the best place to be successful. We have guys that can win one-on-ones, now we’ve just got to put the pieces in the right spots. But guys like Charles Omenihu, guys like Duke Ejiofor, who missed all of last year, Jacob Martin, Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt. We’ve got guys that can get to the quarterback, and it’s all about what we can do schematically to help present those matchups so they can be successful.”"
The Texans have a lot of options they could use to rush the passer; it will be interesting to see how Brennan Scarlett fits into Weaver’s scheme with the outside linebacker room getting crowded. Scarlett could be a player on the outside looking in if he isn’t able to improve the pass-rushing facet of his game with several players returning.
Weaver also went into depth on how he expects players like J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus to play within the scheme but will have the liberty to freelance from time to time to make plays to impact the game.
"“They’re very smart players, so they’re never trying to do anything intentional or malicious to hurt the defense. They know what they’ve got to do. That being said, while we want our defense to be disciplined, we want everybody to do what they’re supposed to do, I don’t what them to be robots. There’s certain players that you’ve got to give a little bit of professional initiative and let them go make plays. I don’t want to handcuff them. I think they’re all smart enough to do that.”"
State of Houston Texans secondary for 2020
The safety skill group was one of the interesting subjects that were brought up with Justin Reid and A.J. Moore, the only safeties on the active roster returning from last year.
"“We’re extremely excited about Eric Murray and Michael Thomas. They’re both proven veterans, phenomenal human beings that know how to play the game and how to win, but we have Justin Reid. I think Justin Reid is a heck of a football player, and now that he’s going into year three, it was amazing to see some of the things that he did last year particularly when he was nursing really two shoulder injuries the entire year. So, when he comes back this year, and he’s healthy, 100 percent healthy, I could see him taking a huge jump as well.”"
Although the Texans could always add a veteran safety late in the process, it appears the Texans are comfortable with the safety group they have on hand after waiving Tashaun Gipson.
Lonnie Johnson‘s name was also brought if a possible position change was on the horizon, but Weaver reiterated that he would be a cornerback in the secondary moving forward.
"” I think Lonnie’s a corner. I think he has press ability; he has length, he has speed. We’ve got to get his confidence right, and I don’t think he lacks in that area either. But like I said, that rookie year for a corner is difficult. I think he’s going to come in now with more knowledge, not only of just the system but just of DB play in general, and I expect him to take a jump here in year two.”"
It was way too early to give up on Johnson’s chances of becoming a cornerback with only one season under his belt. Weaver’s vote of confidence in Johnson bodes well for the secondary as they will have Bradley Roby, Gareon Conley, and Johnson as the top three options moving into the season.
It’ll be interesting to see how Anthony Weaver performs in his first year as defensive coordinator, but he’s shown enough in his time in Houston as the defensive line coach to at least deserve a shot of putting his mark on the defense.