“Burke has called plays before,” Ryans said after the win over the Titans. “We all collectively put the game plan together. It worked well, and he did a good job of calling it on Sunday.”
After the first three games of the season, the Houston Texans were in an uncharacteristic position at 0-3, and two things stood out over the first three weeks.
One was the Texans’ outstanding defense, which could keep them in any game, as was the case in the three losses by one score, which included late-game miscues by the offense that led to turnovers.
The second was that it was time for head coach DeMeco Ryans to hand over defensive play-calling duties to third-year defensive coordinator Matt Burke so that he could focus on helping first-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley get things moving before the entire season was lost.
Burke, along with his position coaches, added their own spin to Ryans defense and pitched a shutout against the Tennessee Titans in a 26-0 win in Week 4, allowing only 175 total yards in the game. It was the first time Burke had been in charge of the defense during the regular season, after calling plays in a couple of preseason games.
Photo Credit - @Troy Taormina - Imagn Images“Burke has called plays before,” Ryans said after the win over the Titans. “We all collectively put the game plan together. It worked well, and he did a good job of calling it on Sunday.”
Since the 0-3 start, the Texans have gone 9-2 and are on a six-game winning streak as they prepare to take on the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday at NRG Stadium. They also take pride in being one of the hottest teams in the NFL and in Houston having the number one overall defense in the league, thanks to Burke being given more responsibilities.
With what the Texans’ defense has done to premier quarterbacks such as the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen in nationally televised games, the fans weren’t the only ones to take notice.
NFL insider Dianna Russini reported that the 49-year-old Burke may be under consideration for the Tennessee Titans’ head coaching opening. The Titans fired former head coach Brian Callahan after a rough 1-5 start this season.
“Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi and president of football operations Chad Brinker are leading the organization’s head coaching search, and I’m told their list is taking shape,” Russini reported.
“Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is viewed internally as a serious candidate. Tennessee also plans to reach out to several defensive coordinators, including the Indianapolis Colts’ Lou Anarumo, the Green Bay Packers’ Jeff Hafley, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Anthony Campanile, the Rams’ Chris Shula, the Houston Texans’ Matt Burke, and the Chargers’ Jesse Minter.”
This is the second time that one of Ryans coordinators has been considered for a head coaching position.
During the 2023 season, former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s name was very hot after his first year calling plays and devising a game plan for rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. During his second year, Slowik was contacted and went through the interview process with the New York Jets before they eventually hired former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glen.
Houston fired Slowik after the season in late January and hired Caley a couple of months later.