After firing former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowick this offseason in the aftermath of a disappointing postseason run, the Houston Texans have now brought in Nick Caley as a replacement with the hopes of helping star quarterback CJ Stroud come up with a bigger campaign in the next season – and the latter is loving this move so far.

Stroud won the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year, and sought a huge run in 2024 as well. However, the lack of a fluid offense has been evident so far. Stroud failed to see the promising rotation and plays that would have allowed him to flex his passing and create wideout passes that can result in an easy score.

With Caley, however, it seems that Stroud is feeling a little bit more free and claims that he has better control of the offense based on their recent scrimmage. That is something that he didn’t feel in the last two seasons under Slowick’s scheme. Now the QB believes that he can actually make some better plays and come up with creative offensive runs for the team heading into next season.

A Prime Opportunity for Stroud

Stroud finished his 2024 season with a 63.2% completion on 3,727 yards and 20 touchdowns. While it may look impressive, he only has a rating of 87 – a huge drop from his 100 rating in his rookie season – where he finished with 4,108 yards on 63.9% completion rate and 23 touchdowns. If there’s one thing to note, he hasn’t actually made improvements in his game – it regressed at a small scale.

That is not alarming, nor should it be the cause for an offensive coordinator to be fired. Yet, the Texans know that Stroud has a lot of potential in his game, and that’s why bringing in Caley as the new OC for the team seems to be quite a good decision that can actually impact their chances next season.

Stroud – who was one of the brightest QBs last season, has been vocal about his discussion with general manager Nick Caserio. The start claims that he has a lot of confidence in the management and the way they are seeking to build a dynamic roster – starting with Caley being hired as the new offensive coordinator.

"No matter what happens, he always has something up his sleeve. So, of course, sometimes we don't know what that is, and you just have to have trust,” Stroud said of his belief in the Texans’ management. “We actually talked about it today, having blind trust and having earned trust, and for Nick, he's gained my trust in both areas. So, I'm excited."

Bringing in Caley

The need to bring in a new OC for the Texans is quite overlooked, but the new one does bring high potential for the team so far. Caley was a promising coordinator in 2015, where he helped Tom Brady run the offense for New England and then later Matthew Stafford in the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

On the contrast, Slowick runs the Shanahan scheme – which means the QB doesn’t need to make a lot of checks and changes with the answers built into the play to begin with. The Texans offense rarely found the answer on that end last season, and the offensive line struggled hard.

"Taking control and being a little more pre-snap, having tools to put my guys in the best position. That is something that we really didn't work on these last two years," Stroud said. “So, I will be able to put my swag on it, have fun with it. He is all about me taking full ownership, running the show, and that's what I want.”

Under Caley, Stroud will be able to take more ownership of the offense, and while young QBs will need to make changes over the course of his career, there is a lot of hope that the new OC will be able to steer the star QB to the right direction.