Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans has been among the best hires in the last five seasons.
Not only has the culture shifted from four-win campaigns to division titles, but the Texans also feel like a legitimate Super Bowl contender under Ryans’ watch. The former Pro Bowl linebacker is the fastest coach in franchise history to 30 wins and has never missed the playoffs.
Last season, behind the league’s top defense, Ryans guided Houston to its first 12-win campaign since 2012. He’s also 3-3 in the playoffs, dismantling all three wild-card round opponents since 2023.
But where does Ryans rank among the top coaches entering 2026?
CBS Sports revealed its top 10 coaches for the new season. To no one’s surprise, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay took the top spot, ranking as low as No. 2 by one pollster. The rest of the top 10 fluctuated, with names inside the top five or not making the cut at all.
Ryans, who currently has a 32-19 record, was listed at No. 9 overall with a winning percentage of .627. He appeared as high as No. 5 and was voted inside the top 10 on every ballot.
“Ryans appeared on every ballot this year, joining McVay, [Mike] Macdonald, [Kyle] Shanahan, [Andy] Reid and [Sean] Payton in an elite group,” CBS Sports’ Zachary Pereles wrote. “A former linebacker, Ryans is closely involved with the defensive game-planning, but the actual play-calling belongs to defensive coordinator Matt Burke. The Texans have built a world-class defense under Ryans’ watch, but in order for both Ryans and Houston to take the next step forward, they have to get it right on offense with C.J. Stroud. This year is a crucial one for all parties involved.
“Ryans has won at least 10 games in all three of his seasons as a head coach after two excellent years as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.”
The biggest reason for the No. 9 ranking is consistency. Some coaches, including New England’s Mike Vrabel, ranked as high as No. 3, so while the second-year coach for the current AFC champions was left off several ballots, his higher scores catapulted him into the No. 8 ranking.
The same goes for Los Angeles Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh, who ranked as high at No. 3 on several ballots. Both Vrabel and Harbaugh were head coaches in the league previously before their current openings, so the sample size is a bit more evident.
While Ryans might be the better coach entering the future and have a better gauge on the lay of the NFL, Vrabel and Harbaugh have made it to the Super Bowl, with the latter appearing in three consecutive NFC championship games during his time with the 49ers.
To read the full list and see who made the cut, click here.
The Texans open the regular season on Sept. 13 against the Buffalo Bills.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans HC DeMeco Ryans among top 10 coaches for 2026 season per CBS Sports
Reporting by Cole Thompson, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
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By Cole Thompson, Texans Wire | USA TODAY Network
