Play-caller
- Calls plays: Nick Caley (OC) — confirmed. Caley called plays in 2025 (his first season as a play-caller anywhere) and returns as play-caller for 2026 — the team publicly recommitted after "growth, progress" (click2houston 2026-01-21 "Why Texans OC Nick Caley is returning as play-caller"; GM Caserio: "I would anticipate Nick being here next year" — ESPN 1/2026; 2026 staff officially announced 2026-03-07, profootballnews.net). HC DeMeco Ryans does not call offensive plays.
- Tenure with team: OC since 2025 (2nd season, 2nd as caller) · Prior relationship with QB1: one full season with Stroud; Ryans says the two are "communicating much better" this offseason (NBC Sports PFT, 6/2026).
- Pre-HOU resume (non-calling): LAR pass-game coordinator/TE coach 2023–24 (McVay tree), NE TE coach 2015–22 (McDaniels/Erhardt-Perkins tree) — houstontexans.com coaches roster.
Last 3 play-calling stops (Caley has exactly one — first-time caller in 2025; tree priors only before that):
| Stop (team, yrs) | PROE | Neutral pass% | Sec/play (neutral) | Motion% | PA% | 11 / 12 / 21% | Condensed% | RB tgt share | WR1 TS | Inside-10 pass% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU 2025 | −1.0% (nfelo) | UNVERIFIED (raw pass rate 60.8%) | UNVERIFIED (67.3 plays/gm — top-of-league pace proxy; TOP 31:41) | 43.6% all plays / 52.4% of dropbacks | 23.0% per dropback | 64.6 / 12.0 / 5.1% | UNVERIFIED | 13.9% | 21.7% (Collins, 15 of 17 gms; ~24% per-game) | UNVERIFIED |
| (no prior stops — LAR 2023–24 pass-game coord., non-calling) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| (NE 2015–22 TE coach, non-calling) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Row sources: PROE −1.0%, raw pass 60%, aDOT 8.2, TOP 31:41 — nfeloapp.com team tendencies, 2025 season (fetched 2026-07-07); motion/PA/personnel computed from data/stats/2025/participation.csv + ftn_charting.csv; plays/gm and pass rate from pbp_summary.csv; RB target share (77 of 553 team targets) and WR1 TS from receiving.csv (all nflverse, pulled 2026-07-07).
Read: Caley's year-1 offense was near-neutral PROE with genuinely high play volume (67.3/gm) — volume comes from pace and a defense that gets the ball back (28 takeaways), not from pass-tilt. Motion is moderate (52% of dropbacks), PA is mid (23%), 11 personnel (64.6%) is standard, and the RB target share (13.9%) is below-neutral — receiving-back value ran through Marks' 36 targets, not a featured role. He fed Collins a healthy but not alpha-sized share (21.7% raw, ~24% per-game) with Schultz as the high-volume second read; results were real (404 points, 2nd-most in franchise history; 12 turnovers, fewest in franchise history — houstontexans.com/NBC 1/2026). Year 2 with the same QB, an upgraded OL, and Montgomery added points to modest run-lean consolidation, not a scheme change.
Scheme family
- Run scheme: Zone-based with gap/duo mix (Caley blends McVay-tree zone with Patriots-style gap; exact 2025 zone/gap split UNVERIFIED) — RB fits: Montgomery is the downhill/short-yardage gap hammer he was in DET; Marks is the one-cut/satellite fit. No mismatch flag — the committee maps cleanly onto the scheme.
- Pass-game family: McVay/Shanahan-tree hybrid with Erhardt-Perkins (NE) bones — moderate motion (52% of dropbacks), mid PA (23%), aDOT 8.2 (nfelo 2025). Implications: intermediate timing throws and YAC over vertical iso; slot (Noel) and TE (Schultz) get schemed underneath volume; Collins wins on contested intermediate/deep X routes rather than a pure vertical role.
