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Houston Texans Hire Two Assistant Coaches

The Houston Texans are wasting no time in preparing for the 2016 NFL season. They have hired two new coaches, including one who was a star at Rice University. Join the conversation at Battle Red Blog.

By Capt Ron
Larry Izzo will rid Houston of that special teams curse!
Larry Izzo will rid Houston of that special teams curse!
Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Just four days after Bill O'Brien relieved three assistant coaches of their duties, news is breaking that your Houston Texans have hired two new coaches!

Special Teams Coordinator

Larry Izzo will be Houston's new special teams coordinator after spending the last five years as the assistant special teams coach for the New York Giants.  He is a Houston native and former star at Rice University.  More importantly, he delivered outstanding performances as a special teams player in the NFL, including the record for the most career special teams tackles in history with 298.

From Wikipedia:

  • Through twelve games into the 2009 NFL season, Izzo has recorded more special teams tackles than any other NFL player in history (298). Izzo has racked up 275 ST Tackles in 200 career regular-season games plus 23 tackles in 21 postseason games.[9]While the NFL does not publish official statistics on ST tackles, that ranks Izzo ahead of Buffalo's Mark Pike (283). He also ranks ahead of Keith Burns(231), Gary Stills (218), former Dallas Cowboy Bill Bates (216) and former Bill Steve Tasker (186).[10]
  • In 14 NFL seasons, Izzo never played on a team with a losing record. That included 9 playoff appearances, 5 AFC Championship appearances, 4 Super Bowl appearances, and 3 Super Bowl victories.
  • Through the 2008 season, Izzo played in 103 consecutive games for the Patriots, dating back to 2002.
  • While with the Patriots, Izzo once received a game ball after "doing number two" on the sideline during a game without Patriots head coach Bill Belichick noticing.[11][12]
  • Izzo recorded his highest special teams tackle total in 1999 when he led the Dolphins with 33 special teams stops. In 2003, he tallied 31 special teams tackles to lead the Patriots.
  • Izzo was Named to Football Digest's 1999 All-Tough Guy Team.
  • Izzo was named to ESPN's John Clayton's "The Best Team Money Can Buy" roster in July, 2006 as a back-up linebacker and special teams coverage player.[13]
  • Izzo was the Miami Dolphins recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award in 1998.
  • Graduated from Rice University with a degree in Managerial Studies.
  • In 2008, Izzo was selected by his teammates as special teams captain of the New England Patriots for the 8th consecutive season.

Hopefully Izzo will rid Houston of the dreaded special teams curse!  That sensational list of accomplishments should bring confidence that your 2016 Texans team will improve greatly with respect to tackling.  While I'm quite impressed by it, I'm still trying to bleach my mind from reading Bullet #4.

Wide Receivers Coach

Sean Ryan will be coaching the wide receivers group for the Texans.  He has been coaching for the New York Giants since 2007 where he held a variety of roles, including:

  • 2007 - 2010 Offensive Quality Control
  • 2010 - 2011 Wide Receivers
  • 2012 - 2014 Quarterbacks
  • 2014 - present Wide Receivers

These sound like two great additions to the staff!  What say you, Texans fans?  Share your reactions in the comments section below.

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