Other teams are poaching Houston's talented assistants, threatening to dismantle the Texans' acclaimed defensive coaching staff.
One of the hardest things in the NFL is to put together a great coaching staff, and it is even harder to keep one together. The Houston Texans are going through what that feels like right now, as several assistant coaches have been requested for interviews by other franchises that would be offering them a promotion from their current role in Houston.
Head coaches are often judged by the coaching staff they can assemble. That is why there is so much talk surrounding 'coaching trees' in the NFL. If a coordinator or position coach has one good season, there is a solid chance that will be given an opportunity to move up the ladder with a different franchise. It is one of the harder and more under-talked about struggles of being a head coach. You want to see your guys succeed and move on, but it also hurts your team in the moment.
Most recently, Texans Assistant Linebackers Coach Ben Bolling was asked to interview for the New York Jets. This would be a promotion for him, but it would also come at the expense of going to one of the worst franchises in the NFL. Another assistant coach who has been requested for an interview is Defensive Backs Coach Dino Vasso.
The Texans are known for having one of the best defenses in the NFL, and a big reason is their secondary. Vasso has coached the cornerbacks in Houston since 2021, and he was promoted to defensive backs coach ahead of the 2024 season. He has played a major role in turning Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter into one of the best cornerback duos in the league, and the development of Jalen Pitre also stands out.
The Arizona Cardinals want to give Vasso a look as their defensive coordinator, and he should be considered a strong candidate for the role. The Cardinals need help in a ton of areas, but solidifying the defense is always a great place to start. Vasso has seen how DeMeco Ryans has gone about building up that side of the ball, and it is something he could replicate in Arizona.
The thought of going to the Cardinals seems rough, even though it would be a promotion. At the very least Vasso can get some interview experience, as it is no guarantee that he would choose to leave Houston if offered the job.
Houston would miss Vasso if he were to go elsewhere, but the talent in the secondary would remain. The Texans can recover from losing an important coach like Vasso, but the organization is probably hoping he stays put.