Nick

Caley

The Texans’ offense didn’t return to its 2023 heights under Caley, but C.J. Stroud did bounce back after a troublesome 2024 season. He averaged 7.2 yards per attempt with a 4.5 percent touchdown rate and a 1.9 percent interception rate. All three of those marks were improvements over his previous season. Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans will give Caley at least one more chance to get Stroud back to his Rookie of the Year form. Then the team will have some big decisions to make on Caley and Stroud, who has one year left on his rookie contract, plus the fifth-year option.

Caley’s Texans finished 19th in DVOA in the regular season, but actually picked things up fairly well after an uninspiring 3-5 start. It would be a little surprising to see the Texans move on from the 42-year-old in his first season as an offensive coordinator, but we would have called it a little surprising to see Bobby Slowik get canned after 2024 as well. This will be a situation to watch until we get better clarity.

ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime reports Ryans has no plans to move off of offensive coordinator Nick Caley, despite the team’s offensive struggles. The Texans are coming off a 27-19 Monday night loss to the Seahawks and have crossed 20 points only in games against the weak Titans and Ravens defenses. C.J. Stroud and company have not found the same success as his 2023 rookie season and despite the issues, Ryans is not making changes yet. He said, “It all starts with me...We got to play better. We got to execute better on game day.” The Texans head into a Week 8 matchup against a 49ers defense that ranks No. 7 in scoring and may be missing WR Nico Collins (concussion) for the game.

Caley reportedly decided against pursuing the Jets offensive coordinator vacancy and decided not to take the Patriots offensive coordinator job last year, so he has been selective in finding his first role as a playcaller. It is hard to find a more high-profile situation than being the main architect of fixing what ailed Bobby Slowik’s offense with C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins in 2024. We imagine the Texans will probably throw a little more often than they did under Slowik, who was often lambasted for how easily he dialed in on running the ball on long second downs. Caley will also have to work on the team’s pass protection and how to get that into a cohesive place. If he’s as good as the clippings and NFL attention from other teams foreshadow, Caley should have no problem turning a Texans offense with plenty of good-to-great parts into a better unit in 2025.

According to Hughes, Caley was the Jets’ top option to fill the role. Now, Hughes reports “the expectation” is that the Jets will hire Lions’ pass game coordinator as their offensive coordinator — although nothing has been made official at this time. Caley has been on several teams’ radars this coaching cycle, and has had interviews with both the Jaguars and Buccaneers to discuss their OC openings. With several offensive coordinator positions still available, it wouldn’t be surprising if Caley wound up with a new team in 2025.

Caley, another on the Sean McVay coaching tree, is also in the running for the Texans’ OC gig. Caley has spent the past two seasons under McVay in LA after serving multiple offensive roles for the Patriots from 2015 to 2022. Tampa is looking to fill their offensive coordinator opening after Liam Coen reneged on a contract extension to take the Jacksonville head coaching job.

Caley has been with the Rams since 2023, previously spending 2015-2022 with the Patriots in multiple roles. The Texans are looking to fill their offensive coordinator position after firing Bobby Slowik and interviewed Caley, who also has interest from the Buccaneers. A new addition from the Sean McVay coaching tree, Caley would bring a new wrinkle to C.J. Stroud and the Texans offense.

Caley interviewed for the Texans offensive coordinator job before they hired Dave Canales heading into the 2023 season. He has also interviewed with the Patriots and has been linked to the Jets this hiring cycle, seemingly a name to remember as teams continue filling in their coaching vacancies.

Hughes also said Caley “is the latest... branch off of the [Sean] McVay tree that’s probably in line to eventually get a head coaching job.” McVay’s former understudies hold myriad high-profile roles across the league so it is hardly surprising to hear yet another NFL team hopes to hire McVay’s current pass game coordinator. Hughes notes Caley’s superior, OC Mike LaFleur, was fired by the Jets after a 2021-2022 stint. Hughes indicated he does not expect LaFleur to give Caley “a ringing endorsement for what it’s like to” work in the Jets’ organization. The potential opportunity to advance his career while playing for a highly respected coach like Glenn could outweigh LaFleur’s theoretical warnings though. We will report back with new information.

It may not take long for Jerrod Mayo to continue Bill Belichick’s legacy of staying within the family when retooling his staff. Caley began his NFL career as a member of the Patriots in 2015. He was hired as an offensive assistant and eventually worked his way up to tight ends coach. Caley took on the same role for the Rams this year. The Jets and Texans interviewed Caley for their offensive coordinator vacancies last year but both went in different directions.