Texans’ Cal McNair, Hannah McNair on state of team: ‘I think we’ve got a shot at doing things we haven’t done before’

HOUSTON – When the Texans walked off the field in January at frigid Arrowhead Stadium after a crushing divisional round playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the locker room atmosphere was somber and filled with frustration.

It was also filled with a healthy perspective considering the fact that the Texans are a young football team with a lot of returning talent.

The Texans engineered a dramatic turnaround during coach DeMeco Ryans’ first season. Under the leadership of the former Pro Bowl linebacker, the Texans went from 3-13-1 the previous year under Lovie Smith to 11-8 with Ryans and winning the AFC South division title before losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. They finished with an identical record last season, including one playoff win in each of the past two years.

Although there was a lot of optimistic talk about a potential Super Bowl run last season, the Texans’ playoff run ultimately ended at the same stage of the postseason for the sixth time in franchise history in the second round of the playoffs.

Flash forward to today and the Texans approach the start of the regular season brimming with optimism about a two-time defending division champion led by Ryans, a former Pro Football Writers of America NFL Coach of the Year. The roster is headlined by former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback C.J. Stroud, Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins and three Pro Bowl defenders in bookends Will Anderson Jr., a former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Danielle Hunter, All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr. and team captain and middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.

“Well, we’re hoping. That’s why we’re excited about the season coming up,” Texans chair and CEO Cal McNair, voted unanimously as the franchise’s principal owner two years ago at the annual league meetings, told KPRC 2. “Watch these guys play and how they come together and it’s a long season. The cliches are true, one game at a time. We gotta stay focused, but I think we got a shot at doing some things we haven’t done before and really excited about where we go this year."

Months after the defeat to eventual Super Bowl runner-up Kansas City, in the middle of another busy offseason headlined by trading Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, trading for wide receiver Christian Kirk and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, overhauling the offensive line, making changes to the offensive coaching staff and signing Stingley Jr. and Hunter to blockbuster contract extensions, the Texans have set their ambitions on making a deep playoff run. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik was dismissed and replaced by Nick Caley, who is implementing a new playbook with influences from his time with the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots. Offensive line coach Chris Strausser was also fired and replaced by Cole Popovich, who was promoted to offensive line coach-run game coordinator.

The Texans traded away a five-time Pro Bowl left tackle in Tunsil, largely for financial reasons due to his desire for another top-of-the-market contract extension along with the opportunity to acquire valuable draft capital. They replaced Tunsil with veteran left tackle Cam Robinson at a lower price with a one year, $14.5 million contract.

The offensive line has undergone dramatic changes. The Texans didn’t retain four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs in free agency as he joined the New England Patriots via a three-year, $69 million deal after having conversations with him and not having the same financial expectations.

They drafted Iowa State standout wide receivers Jayden Higgins, who became the first second-round draft pick in league history to sign a fully guaranteed contract with an $11.7 million deal, and Jaylin Noel.

One of the major reasons why Texans ownership is confident in the outlook is the collaboration between Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio as they work closely together on every roster move and key decision.

“I think it started in the interview process and you saw how they thought alike and really made a good team there and luckily it seems to be working out a couple years into it,” said Hannah McNair, the Texans’ charitable foundation vice president and Cal McNair’s wife. “But we’re seeing good results on the field and really happy for the way they’re working together.”

How good are the Texans and are they poised for a deep playoff run?

It remains to be seen if they’ll emerge beyond being the Kings of the AFC South for the third year in a row. Like every NFL team and year, the season starts at zero for the Texans.

Among the things the team is working through is a lingering foot-ankle injury for Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon, suffered away from the Texans with him progressing from a walking boot, to wearing a brace to having increased mobility over the summer to, now, still being out indefinitely while rehabbing and navigating a somewhat complicated medical issue. He remains on the non-football injury list.

Mixon is not considered a lock to be ready for the season-opener against the Los Angeles Rams, per league sources. The Texans will take their time with managing his recovery and will not rush him back onto the field after missing the entire offseason and the majority of training camp so far. They can lean on Nick Chubb, Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale and Woody Marks in his absence.

Nonetheless, the Texans, few would dispute, are built to contend. How far they’ll ultimatelh go remains to be seen.

“Yeah, not really sure what the next step is,” Caserio said at the start of training camp. “We have a good football team so we been one of the best eight teams in the league the last two years. What’s going to happen beyond that, I mean, nobody has any idea. I don’t have any idea. Nobody else has any idea. Anybody that says they do is probably like wrong. So, can we put ourselves a position each week to give ourselves an opportunity to win.

“What the end result is, I mean, we’re focused on the work, the process, and that’s not going to change. So, you have to put a significant amount of time and energy and effort into developing your foundation, building your football team up. In the end it’s about what happens on Sunday. So the focus is going to be on the Rams. Anything beyond that, I mean, is a big waste of time. I don’t spend much time on it. DeMeco doesn’t spend much time on it.”

One of the reasons why the Texans shifted training camp for five days and four practices to The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia went beyond taking advantage of the the cooler temperatures and modern training facilities.

The Texans traveled north to further build camaraderie and make the football team an even closer one.

That was reflected by the emotional reaction from players when tight end Brevin Jordan injured his right knee during the Texans’ first practice back in a somber scene in Houston after a preseason road game against the Minnesota Vikings. This is the second year in a row Jordan suffered a serious injury after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last season and being placed on season-ending injured reserve. Now, he’s out for the season again.

“It’s a brotherhood and you can see that,” Hannah McNair said. “Unfortunately, we lost Brevin for the season. But what you saw outside of that is the brotherhood that they all have together. So that is really encouraging to see in the culture. And that’s brought to you from DeMeco right? DeMeco has that and he set the tone for that entire group. And I love that feeling with all of them."

The Texans like the training facility and convenience of The Greenbrier, which is owned and operated by Republican U.S. Senator Jim Justice of West Virginia.

They are open to the idea of returning to The Greenbrier for future training camps and have held conversations about potentially going back, per Cal McNair.

"We will work through that in our budgeting process," Cal McNair said. “But yeah, I know we’re talking to them, and we’ll figure out what’s best for the team, and then work from there."

Two years ago, the Texans hit on both of their first-round draft picks in a major way.

Stroud, a second overall pick and former Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State, emerged as the top offensive rookie in the NFL. Caserio traded back into the first round to draft Anderson after a deal with the Arizona Cardinals to land Anderson, who became the top defensive rookie in the league.

Both will be eligible for long-term contracts next offseason following their third seasons, respectively, in the NFL, under the collective bargaining agreement. The Texans have a strong track record of signing their homegrown players to new deals, including Stingley and nickel Jalen Pitre, who inked a three-year, $42.6 million extension in the spring.

“Yeah, they’ve been great,” Hannah McNair said of Stroud and Anderson. “That was one of the most fun drafts I’ve ever been a part of in my life. That was incredible.”

In terms of building out the roster, that’s in the hands of Caserio and Ryans. The Texans remain in talks with their partners, Harris County and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, regarding renovations at NRG Stadium with a lease set to expire in 2032. The building needs work, but it does have $35 million new video boards with quadruple the volume for content, a clear and loud sound system and 120 new food items for concessions and club levels.

The priority for the Texans regarding the multi-use, 72,220 capacity stadium built in 2002 at a cost of $352 million is to renovate the facility, which is in need of extensive and expensive repairs and general improvements.

The Texans, led by new team president Mike Tomon on the business side, continue to explore potential sites for a brand-new standalone training facility they want to anchor to retail and entertainment. The Dallas Cowboys’ Star facility in Frisco is a prime example of how a separate training facility anchored to restaurants and entertainment can provife a fun experience for fans and be a moneymaking enterprise. The primary goal is to have a better training facility for the players and coaches as well as being able to have all of their staff, including sales and other departments, under the same roof.

“For the training facility, I think it’s a pretty unique situation,” Tomon said. “You know, the value that the Texans can bring to a community, to the dirt, so to speak. We really see that there’s a great way that we can impact the community in a great way, to make sure that it’s the destination. It’s an asset for the community, for the folks who are there, and with that comes revenue opportunities. We’re seeing that there’s other organizations who have looked at it similarly when you start seeing how important or how much how popular entertainment districts have become.

“They’re great opportunities for corporate partners to engage, they’re great opportunities for other retail, local retail, national retail, etc. So you know there could be a meaningful revenue opportunity depending on how how you situate it. I think districts in general are interesting to us because of the impact they have on the community. To do a district the right way can be a real benefit for generations to come for the community, and that’s what interests us.”

Since the birth of the Texans as a franchise, Janice McNair has been instrumental to the growth of the organization.

Now, the co-founder and senior chair, the widow of the late owner and founder Bob McNair, is being inducted into the Texans’ Ring of Honor. She will be honored with a halftime ceremony Nov. 9 when the Texans play the Denver Broncos at NRG Stadium.

McNair joins her late husband and Texans co-founder Bob McNair, Cal’s father, Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt as the fourth member of the club’s Ring of Honor. Johnson became the first inductee in 2017, followed by Bob McNair in 2019 and Watt in 2023.

“One of the easiest decisions we’ve ever made so she totally deserves it she was there from the beginning beginning with that and then she was a principal owner for a number of years and you know just has been a tremendous asset to the city and the team and really all of us," Cal McNair said. “She’s getting excited about it. She’s getting fitted for her red jacket, and it’s the same cloth as the other guys have been.”]

“Her reaction was tears and then her first response was, ‘I don’t deserve this,’” Hannah McNair said. “And then, of course, you start to convince her and tell her all the reasons why she’s so deserving. And I think the one that got her was, ‘You’ll be up there with Bob.’”

For the McNair family, gameday is an extremely big deal. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the team each week. A former Cy-Fair and University of Texas football player, McNair will rewatch the Texans games a few times.

"Cal is able to eat breakfast," Hannah McNair said. “I can’t eat breakfast because my nerves are so shot. I’m just ready to go. nervous, and that’s how the morning goes. But I’m also getting the kids ready. They’re excited.

“What jersey are they gonna wear? So, there’s a lot of excitement around the house, but really it starts the night before. He gets really quiet the night before because he just starts to get in the zone about what’s going on. And then after the games, he’ll go home and rewatch the game.”

The Texans have assembled a talented defense that includes Hunter, Anderson, Stingley, Al-Shaair, Kamari Lassiter, Calen Bullock and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who is currently sidelined with a knee injury and expected back, hopefully during the early portion of the regular season.

“I can’t wait to see the defense,” McNair said. “I’m a defensive guy, and I like to run the ball. So, those are not maybe the most exciting things for the fans. But, for me, to see great defense and then be able to run the ball, that kind of brings joy to this guy.”

The McNair family is bullish on the present and the future as well as the attitude around the team.

“I think if you work in football, you better love football because there’s really not a day off,” Hannah McNair said. “Everybody I run into in this organization in different capacities, they love this organization, they love the sport, and so they’re in here on their days off. They’re working, answering their phones on the weekends, so you really love to see that.”

The Texans are convinced they’re getting close to reaching their goals on and off the field.

“I really thought we were going to go all the way this year, and I felt it in every part of me, and you could feel it from the team, they believed it as well, and the belief is throughout the organization,” said Hannah McNair in the spring during the NFL owners meetings at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla. “When we lost in Kansas City, that hurt a lot because we were right there and I thought we were going .. It was just a belief throughout the entire organization.”

The Texans have a deep core of young players led by Stroud, Anderson and Stingley.

“The relentless mindset is so key and it’s all over our building right now and it’s really fun,” Hannah McNair said. “And Nick keeps drafting really well. It’s a great problem to have that we can’t keep everyone, but that speaks to Nick and DeMeco and getting the right guys in the building.”

The Texans, as they did with Stingley, want to keep extending as many young players as possible that are drafted by Caserio and developed by Ryans and his coaching staff.

“They’re setting the standard,” Cal McNair said. “They have come in and set the bar at a really high level. They’re great teammates and great leaders and we’re really happy to embrace that and get young players and continue to see them evolve and mature. We’re really looking forward to seeing where that goes.”

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