How Texans’ starting offensive line is taking shape, Cole Popovich’s standard: ‘toughness, clean football’

HOUSTON – Huddled together before blocking drills, the Texans’ overhauled offensive line was quiet and attentive.

They were listening to offensive line coach Cole Popovich as he imparted his vision for a group that has undergone dramatic changes after struggling mightily last season, especially during a playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

It was that kind of substandard performance that triggered watershed changes in the leadership of the position group and major personnel changes. If the Texans don’t allow eight sacks and 14 quarterback hits to the Chiefs, perhaps they would have made franchise history as the first Texans team to win a divisional round playoff game and advance to the AFC championship game.

That game may have marked the breaking point for the coaching staff and personnel department, leading to what coach DeMeco Ryans called a reset of the line. Since that game, the Texans fired offensive line coach Chris Strausser and replaced him with Popovich, who was promoted from assistant line coach to head offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and his expensive contract were traded to the Washington Commanders. Right guard Shaq Mason was released. Left guard and former first-round draft pick Kenyon Green was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. And left tackle Cam Robinson and left guard Laken Tomllinson were acquired as free agents, center Jake Andrews off waivers from the New England Patriots, reuniting him with Popovich, his position coach at Troy University, and rookie tackle Aireontae Ersery was drafted in the second round.

It’s a new day in Houston for the offensive line, nd a new singular voice leading them in Popovich, a former Patriots offensive line coach mentored by legendary New England assistant coach Dante Scarneccia.

“I think the biggest thing is really just want to have a tough offensive line that plays the game in a way that the whole team can kind of see,” Popovich told KPRC 2. “There’s a toughness established from our group there, right? We’re not shying away from any kind of contact. And then, really, the other thing would be just a smart group.

“I don’t want missed assignments. That’s the biggest things. We’re trying to play clean football, trying to eliminate bad football. Play very tough, be assignment-sound, and I think we’ll be okay if we do those things."

Popovich’s primary tasks for next season will be upgrading the pass protection issues that the team dealt with last season as quarterback C.J. Stroud was sacked 52 times, up from 38 sacks when he was NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year two seasons ago.

Although the Texans haven’t specifically named any starters, the first-team offensive line is taking shape as competitions are being won at two spots: right tackle and center.

Ersery, a massive Big Ten Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year at Minnesota, has taken the first-team right tackle snaps for the past week ahead of Blake Fisher, who has had some issues with false starts at camp.

Andrews has rotated with Jarrett Patterson at center, but has taken the majority of the first-team snaps throughout training camp. There have been no real challenges yet for Robinson, Tomlinson and Tytus Howard, who has shifted to right guard.

“For offensive line, we’re getting settled into a first group, second group,” Ryans said. “We have to find out, throughout this camp, who our top nine guys will be. You start to see it get solidified. Guys start to separate themselves. Especially once we put the pads on you can see guys start to move ahead of other guys a little bit. We’ll still evaluate those guys and see how the games go, but I’m pleased with where we are now.

“There’s still room for improvement but I think it helps when you have continuity and you’re working besides the same guy for however many reps you’re going through. It helps with communication; it helps speed up things. The guys have done a great job of settling in and we’ll see how that continues to move forward.”

Popovich drew praise from Texans offensive linemen in his first season in Houston when the team improved to 12th in total offense after ranking 31st in 2022.

Popovich, 39, is a former Patriots assistant running backs coach and coaching assistant who has also coached at the college level.

During Popovich’s season assisting with the running backs in New England, Sony Michel rushed for 912 yards as the Patriots finished with a 12-4 record and won the AFC East. He helped coach the Patriots to a top-10 offense in four of his first five NFL seasons.

What Popovich believes in was largely built through a foundation of the teachings of Scarneccia.

“That’s the best coach I’ve been around and it was a very clear, simple teaching progression and just the same messages every single day,” Popovich said. “In terms of techniques, very, very simple. We do the same drills over and over again. We don’t try to reinvent the wheel. We just feel like if we can just get really good at these basic techniques, that everything will take care of itself. I wouldn’t be here without Dante, so kind of owe everything to him.”

Popovich coached at Minot State as an offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator and previously at Utah State, Fresno City College and Los Angeles Valley College.

He was a four-year starting offensive guard at Fresno State and a former freshman All-American.

“I really love coach Pop,’ said Tomlinson, a former Pro Bowl selection. ”He’s an offensive line coach through and through. Everything that he’s doing for the guys right now, I truly appreciate it because he has a vision for us and we’re moving full-steam ahead, working towards that.”

‘A special coach,’ Texans hire Nick Caley as new offensive coordinator

The running game should be a strength for the Texans, especially when Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon returns from foot and ankle issues. Mixon rushed for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns during his first season in Houston after a trade from the Cincinnati Bengals last year and was signed to a three-year, $27 million contract extension.

The Texans are breaking in at least three new starters in terms of newcomers with another returning starter in Howard adjusting to a new position after previously playing left guard and right tackle.

Ersery, who played for Brian Callahan with the Golden Gophers, is getting up to speed on the right side after primarily playing left tackle in college where he once shut down Penn State star pass rusher Abdul Carter, the New York Giants’ first-round draft pick.

Playing for Popovich is similar to Ersery’s college experience.

“Having Cole Popovich, his style of offensive line play, his mindset and being able to relate to that, he has a similar personality to my offensive line coach in college,” Ersery said. “Being able to go out there and be coached, be with the older guys, I have learned from them. Then being able to come out here and play with guys who have been playing at a high level, it’s nothing but a blessing.”

Ersery is 6-foot-6, 331 pounds and is athletic enough that he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.01 seconds at the NFL scouting combine.

"He’s a big, strong guy," Popovich said. “He’s a strong tackle that has good power, he can sink and anchor. We really liked a lot of the stuff that he showed and he played the game with some toughness. I think that stood out on the tape."

Popovich’s contract was expiring this offseason and now he’s back with the defending AFC South champions after they hired Caley as offensive coordinator. Popovich and Caley were assistant coaches on Super Bowl winning staffs with the Patriots under coach Bill Belichick.

“I have a lot of respect, I think he’s a phenomenal coach,” Caley said of Popovich. “He’s really smart. He’s an extremely hard worker. He really cares about the guys. He is a mentally and physically tough dude. Look at him, he looks like he could squat a house.

“I got a lot of experience with him. I’ve been through a lot of games with him in the past, dating back to New England, and he’s always growing. He’s always searching to be the best that he can be. He’s got a growth mindset and I’m really thankful that we get to work together again.”

The Texans’ offensive line has had its issues during training camp competing against Pro Bowl bookend pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr.

It’s been a difficult situation at times for Stroud to run plays due to how disruptive the defensive line has been.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that progress isn’t being made by the line. It’s hard to know what they’ll be like in the regular season against some front sevens that aren’t as talented as the Texans.

“We’re in a little bit of a new situation where there’s so many new faces in that room,” Popovich said. “And so just trying to get everybody reps so they can show what they can do. At some point, we will be like, ‘Here’s our five, here is kind of the next guys in the game.’

“And we’ll have plenty of time to get to that. It’s a very long season in the NFL. And what usually happens is you don’t have those same five guys, unfortunately. Like injuries are part of the game, and so all this goes into that. It’s just helpful to get guys working with different people, different sides of the line. You just build some versatility in the whole group."

The real test for an offensive lineman is in live game reps, but, so far, Howard looks and feels comfortable as the Texans’ new starting right guard. It was a position of instability last season as Mason’s play regressed and he was released and former second-round pick Juice Scruggs didn’t solidify the spot

“I love it, man,” Howard told KPRC 2. “Just getting these reps in, Probably the first time I got a chance to get this many reps in at guard before the season started. So, I’m doing the best I can do to get the technique down. And the coaches have been doing a tremendous job helping me with that."

With this latest move, Howard is displaying his positional flexibility again. He’s played left guard, right tackle, left tackle and, now, right guard. He has played every spot but center. Could he do it?

“If I had to, if I had to,” he said. “The more you can do. I’m a guy who can play at every spot on the offensive line. I can play at a high level at every spot. I just gotta keep working and continue to get better. I feel like this year is gonna be my biggest year.”

The offensive line has been characterized as the biggest question mark on the defending AFC South champions’ roster. How all of the changes work out will have a large hand in determining whether this team can make a long playoff run. To say they’re hungry to prove themselves is a vast understatement.

“We’ve got a chip on our shoulders and people underestimate what we’re going to be this year, but, you know that’s their problem,” Howard said. “When that first game comes and we come off that ball and hit them in the mouth, like they’re gonna be, ‘These guys are for real.’

“Every day isn’t gonna be perfect. But I’m telling you when that game comes and they see what the offensive line is about, we’re going to be ready."

The Texans fired offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and offensive line coach Chris Strausser, hiring former Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Nick Caley as offensive coordinator and promoted assistant line coach Cole Popovich to offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Popovich is heading into his third season with the Texans. A former Fresno State starting offensive lineman, Popovich broke into the NFL as a coaching assistant in 2016 before being promoted to assistant running backs coach working with Sony Michel then being named co-offensive line coach when Scarneccia retired.

Howard has one word for the stamp Popovich is placing on the offensive line: “Nasty.”

Popovich left the Patriots in the offseason for personal family reasons related to mandatory NFL Covid-19 vaccine regulations and coached high school football in Franklin, Massachusetts. He was then hired at Troy University as their head offensive line coach before joining the Texans and winning two consecutive AFC South division titles as part of Ryans’ first two seasons in Houston.

“You gotta play with a lot of grit,” Howard said. “When offensive lines are physical that don’t take (expletive) from nobody and they just establish, the dominance up front, he exemplifies that every morning, every day on the field And you want that in the coach because you’re only gonna rub off on the offensive line and he holds us to a high standard."

Both Popovich and Caley are big believers in Scarneccia, who was known for his hard-nosed, fix-it, get-it-right approach to protecting star quarterback Tom Brady.

Inside the Patriots’ meeting rooms and practice fields, Caley and Popovich interacted for years while gaining knowledge from Belichick and Scarneccia.

At the time, Caley was the Patriots’ tight ends coach working with All-Pro Rob Gronkowski. And Popovich was a rising coach who helped replace Scarneccia when he retired after more than three decades in New England.

Now, the two longtime friends are collaborating on an important task for the defending AFC South champion Texans: fixing a reconfigured offensive line.

How Caley and Popovich implement a sounder plan to keep Stroud healthy and standing will go a long way toward upgrading an offense that dipped to 22nd in total offense and 19th in scoring last season for a Texans squad headlined by its aggressive defense led by Ryans.

“Cole as our offensive line coach to lead that room, just having one voice to lead it, I feel really strong about that,” Ryans said. “Cole helped a lot of our young players when it came to developing. He had a really great relationship with a lot of guys, and I think very highly of Cole and what he’s able to do.

“I think him having a prior relationship with Nick as well, and them being able to work together and them to hit the ground running instantly, I think that also lead to my decision, and I know we’ll be better for it.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com