Houston Texans defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator Rod Wright has enjoyed a massive run of success since joining the team in 2023. Being hired as an assistant in 2023, he was then elevated to his current position in 2024 to help oversee the continued growth of Houston defensive line.
Helping him would be players defensive end, and Defensive Rookie of the Year winner, Will Anderson Jr. and newly acquired defensive end Danielle Hunter, defensive tackles Denico Autry, Mario Edwards Jr., Foley Fatukasi, Tim Settle Jr. and thensome. Combined, Wright and his personnel have helped elevate the unit to being one of the most prolific of the last decade. Specific to just run-stopping acumen alone, they finished sixth-best in 2023 (96.6 YPG), 11th-best in 2024 (114.0 YPG) and finally fourth-best in 2025 (93.7 YPG).
While raw talent has certainly help contribute to Houston's recent meteoric rise as a defense, it's also been due to factors like knowing how to play the mental game within the margins. In particular, plans that include leveraging down and distance as an indicator of which personnel packages should be on the field, and also knowing how to deploy players in such a way that it helps protect their bodies throughout the marathon that is the totality of a full NFL season.
Wright seems to have figured out that equation during his time as the head man of the unit, expressing as much on a recent episode of Texans All Access.
Rod Wright understands situational football and health priority
Speaking on the importance of rotating defensive linemen, Wright expounded with,
“You don’t want to wear Will & Danielle out. You don’t want him to be exhausted in 2 minute. I learned from that my first year here. Atlanta, we’re stopping the run, we put all of the efforts into stopping him (Bijan), we get in the 2 minute & Will is gassed. I remember watching that game & I’m like ‘I got to save him.’ The other part of it, our backups are pretty freaking good too. A lot of times, let’s save Will & Danielle for 3rd down, maybe save Rank. These guys are in on a base down where they can stop the run, then it’s 3rd & long we throw our guys in there. In the long term that best for our guys health, continuity, guys get better.”
The game that he's referring to was the road matchup between the Texans and Falcons back in week five of 2023. In it, quarterback C.J. Stroud and the offense seemingly had the game won after an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by an 18-yard touchdown reception to tight end Dalton Schultz with only about 1:50 left in the contest. All the defense had to do was utilize the entirety of the field to stop Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder (yes, that Desmond Ridder) from leading his offense down for a potential go-ahead field goal try.
Alas, things didn't go according to plan. Because, starting from their own 25-yard line, Atlanta proceeded to march the ball down the field with a 10-play, 56-yard drive of their own, culminating with a 37-yard game-winning field goal by former Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo. Ballgame.
It mainly happened due to what Wright spoke on, a defense that looked gassed and worn out by that point in the game. Each play resulted in 4-5 yards at a time for the Falcons, punctuated by a 26-yard deep ball to wide receiver Drake London to take them to Houston's 26-yard line.
Since then, Wright and his defensive line unit has learned about the importance of balancing both short and long-term interests of the team. As a result, they've become part of the best overall defense in the NFL, which acted as the engine for Houston's in-season turnaround last season that resulted in a franchise record-tying nine-game win streak to close out the year.
Knowing down and distance is vitally important, but so is finding opportunities to rotate guys in and out so as to preserve everyone's health for the future. Houston has done a great job of both over the last couple of years, but continuing to develop in that area will always be the goal for both Wright and his players.
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