DeMeco Ryans has reunited with former teammates Darren Sproles and Jordan Hicks, who have both been selected for Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowships on the Texans’ staff.
While Ryan is best known for his time playing for the team he now coaches, he spent the last four years of his career in Philadelphia. He overlapped with Sproles in 2014 and 2015 and mentored Hicks, an Eagles 2015 third-round pick, during his rookie year.
The trio will now reunite in Houston where Sproles and Hicks will begin their coaching careers. Sproles was originally expected to join Sean Payton‘s staff in Denver, but instead will work with Ryans, Hicks, as well as the Texans’ seven other new Bill Walsh fellows.
Houston is also bringing analytics expert Russell Joyner back into the fold, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. He spent 11 years in Houston (2011-2022), starting as a football administration director, rising to director of football information systems, and finishing as the team’s senior head of decision science. He returns to the Texans as their senior director of research and development.
In another front office move, the Texans are hiring former Florida Gators and Penn Quakers defensive tackle Joey Slackman as a scouting assistant, per Wilson. He previously worked as a player personnel intern at Florida and James Madison University, according to his LinkedIn.