Not even one full day into the week nine ramp up period, we have a sizeable coaching decision coming out of the NFC. As of today, the New Orleans Saints have made the decision to fire run-game coordinator T.J. Paganetti after frequent struggles in the team's rushing attack this season.
This comes less than a week after a fellow NFC South team in the Carolina Panthers fired both defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and defensive pass-game coordinator Jonathan Cooley after their own chronic issues on the defensive side of the football.
Which begs the question for fans of the Houston Texans, will there ever be a time in the near future where we see the departure of the team's offensive line coach and run-game coordinator in Cole Popovich after another season in which his unit has ranked bottom-five in the NFL in several major statistical categories?
Will the Houston Texans fire offensive line coach and run-game coordinator Cole Popovich after another abysmal season for his units?
According to the Texans' official website, in 2022, Popovich served as the offensive line coach at Troy University during a season in which the Trojans finished with a 12-2 record, ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25 and took down UTSA in the Cure Bowl. He's also credited with the development of players like CoSIDA Academic All-American Austin Stidham, running back Kimani Vidal (behind Popovich's offensive lines) and the eventual fourth-rounder in transitioned-center Jake Andrews (currently on the Texans' roster).
To further expound on his previous accomplishments, he owns 15 years of coaching experience, including six NFL seasons with the New England Patriots (2015-20), where he won two Super Bowls (LI, LIII). From 2023-2024, he served as the Texans' assistant offensive line coach under former offensive line head man Chris Strausser. He was then elevated to head offensive line coach and run game coordinator in the 2025 season. This is where we pick up on the current day problems for the former Patriots staffer.
In his lone season as Houston's offensive line coach and run-game coordinator in 2025, Popovich fielded a unit—in both offensive line and rushing attack—that finished with bottom-five to bottom-10 production in several categories (along with some bright spots):
Offensive line (2025)
- Third-worst in pass-block win-rate (30th): 56%
- Worst in run-block win-rate (32nd): 68%
- Tied for ninth-fewest sacks allowed: 31
- Twelfth-lowest quarterback pressure rate allowed (21st): 33%
- Seventh-lowest time to throw generated (26th): 2.75 seconds
Run game (2025)
- 11th-fewest rushing yards per game generated (22nd): 108.9
- Tied for fourth-worst yards per carry average (29th): 3.9
- Tied for second-fewest rushing touchdowns generated (31st): 9
Fast forward to not even a calendar year later, and Popovich and his offensive line/rushing attack is under fire again after an abysmal start to the 2026 season. Through seven games, Popovich's offensive line is yet again within the bottom-10 in the NFL, generating the 10th-worst pass-block win-rate of 46% (23rd) and the 11th-worst run-block win-rate of 72% (22nd).
As far as rushing goes, his group is the fourth-worst in the NFL in yards per game (84.7), fourth-worst in yards per carry (3.6) and tied with six other teams for 10th-most rushing touchdowns accumulated (6). Now, to be fair to Popovich, key injuries and a plethora of new players have contributed to the problems for both groups. However, it's still notable when you're frequently one of the five-worst at what you do, regardless of how much roster turnover that's experienced by the franchise.
Even though Popovich has experienced much success in various organizations prior to his arrival in Houston, the reality is that mostly none of that has translated to an acceptable level during his tenure in both the offensive line and running back rooms. And now that he's been the head man over both for now going on two seasons, the heat surrounding his performance has been turned up even more from fans and local media.
We'll see how much longer the patience will last for figures like head coach DeMeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio regaring Popovich's game planning. Until further notice, fans will just have to sit back and hope that the team figures it out eventually from those two positions.
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