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Ted White

Texans Expected To Hire Cory Undlin; Team Will Not Retain Pep Hamilton, Others

February 14th, 2023 at 4:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former Lions defensive coordinator and two-year DeMeco Ryans lieutenant with the 49ers, Cory Undlin will come over from San Francisco to join Ryans’ staff in Houston. The Texans plan to hire the veteran NFL assistant, Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports.

Previous reports pegged the Texans as interested, and Wilson notes the team intends to hire Undlin as its secondary coach and defensive passing-game coordinator. Undlin spent the past two seasons as the 49ers’ secondary coach; his contract expired after the 2022 season. He is the latest 49ers assistant to join Ryans’ Texans staff.

That staff will not include Pep Hamilton or offensive line coach George Warhop, per Wilson. The Texans retained special teams coordinator Frank Ross, who was a David Culley hire and former Nick Caserio Patriots coworker, but they will have new coordinators (Bobby Slowik, Matt Burke). While Hamilton stayed on under Lovie Smith under a different position, moving from quarterbacks coach to OC, he is out in Houston after two seasons. Warhop joined the Texans last year.

A two-time NFL OC, Hamilton, 48, turned down the opportunity to interview for the Buccaneers’ play-calling post. It will be interesting to see where the ex-Colts play-caller lands. For a second straight season, the Texans finished 30th or worse in both scoring and total offense. While the Texans were not exactly equipped with many notable starters, the team’s struggles helped key another shakeup.

Warhop, 61, has been an offensive line coach in the NFL since 1996. The Texans are eyeing former Colts O-line coach Chris Strausser for the job, Wilson notes, adding the team is also eyeing current Browns defensive line coach Chris Kiffin as well. A Frank Reich hire in Indianapolis, Strausser coached the Colts’ O-line for the past four seasons. Although that unit produced three Pro Bowlers at various points, it regressed in 2022. Kiffin has been with the Browns since 2020 but has interest in joining the Texans. The second-generation NFL coach was on the 49ers’ staff from 2018-19, serving as San Francisco’s pass rush specialist.

Undlin, 51, checks both boxes for the current Texans, having worked with both Ryans and Caserio. Undlin collected a Super Bowl ring in his first NFL season, working as a low-level assistant in New England in 2004, and was the Eagles’ DBs coach during their Super Bowl LII-winning season. His Lions DC stay under Matt Patricia lasted one season (2020).

Ryans has now added Undlin, Slowik, Stephen Adegoke (safeties) and Nick Kray from the 49ers. An effort to poach defensive line coach Kris Kocurek failed. Ryans’ staff will also not include tight ends coach Tim Berbenich, assistant D-line coach Kenyon Jackson, quarterbacks coach Ted White, linebackers coach Miles Smith and select other staffers, Wilson adds. This is not exactly surprising, given the Texans’ struggles and six-year commitment to Ryans.

NFL Coaching Notes: Rams, Brown, Bengals, Texans

February 20th, 2022 at 10:41pm CST by Ely Allen

While the Rams have lost Kevin O’Connell and Wes Phillips to Minnesota, it appears they won’t see their entire offensive staff dismantled. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, assistant quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson is expected to stay with the team with a bit of a promotion in title.

The Rams still have an offensive coordinator position up for grabs. Currently, the favorite to land the job is University of Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen. Coen worked on the Rams’ offensive staff for three years before spending last year in Lexington. He’s turned down multiple job offers recently to remain at Kentucky, but the opportunity to rejoin Sean McVay in Los Angeles may be too good to pass up.

Here are a few more coaching notes from the NFL starting with another note from the Super Bowl LVI champions:

  • Rapoport also reported that Rams’ running backs coach and assistant head coach Thomas Brown is expected to return to Los Angeles. Brown received head coaching interest from Miami and was a candidate to join O’Connell in Minnesota as offensive coordinator before Phillips was announced earlier today. Brown’s presence will provide McVay with some much needed continuity to his offensive staff.
  • The Bengals have hired Charles Burks from the Dolphins to become their cornerbacks coach, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. No word yet on the status of the Bengals’ cornerbacks coach from last season, Steve Jackson.
  • The Texans’ have hired Ted White with the official title of offensive assistant-quarterbacks. White had recently accepted the position of offensive coordinator at Grambling State University under head coach Hue Jackson, but Jackson will have to find someone else to fill the role. White has molded quarterbacks at Texas Southern, Southern, his alma mater of Howard, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Prairie View A&M. He’ll be tasked with the development of second-year quarterback Davis Mills.