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Mike Devlin - Texans New OL Coach

nero THE zero

nero THE zero

All Pro
Lance Zierlein @LanceZierlein
· 1h 1 hour ago
Can’t tell you how excited I am that Mike Devlin is the new offensive line coach for Texans. Huge upgrade w/ very sharp man taking over.

Lance seems really excited
 
For us, me, that are naive - why is he an upgrade? What does he bring to the table?
 
PapaL said:
For us, me, that are naive - why is he an upgrade? What does he bring to the table?
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Thank you Papal. I have the same question.
My thought here is that he was with the Jets, and I don't recall anybody pointing to their O-Line and talking about how great it was.Some of you Guys who are more knowledgeable than I am, please educate me.
 
The Iowa connection is clearly there, although there doesn't appear to be a time when he was actually there the same time as Ferentz (followed him as an assistant, and preceded him as a HC).

Another connection if you connect enough dots is that he goes back far enough with the Jets that the HC that hired him was Eric Mangini. I would imagine that was another vein of inside info. that O'Brien could mine.
 
GNTLEWOLF said:
Thank you Papal. I have the same question.
My thought here is that he was with the Jets, and I don't recall anybody pointing to their O-Line and talking about how great it was.Some of you Guys who are more knowledgeable than I am, please educate me.
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I had originally written "What does he bring besides his Jets pedigree" but didn't want to write him off so quickly. I haven't been able to find anything that screams great hire to me. Guess we'll just have to see if guys return to their previous form and this guy is the savior or J.A.G.
 
The Jets were a straight up ZBS team but they have mixed in gap and man over the last year. That may be the mix OB wants and thinks Devlin has done a good job with it.
 
infantrycak said:
The Jets were a straight up ZBS team but they have mixed in gap and man over the last year. That may be the mix OB wants and thinks Devlin has done a good job with it.
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Isn't that what we ran last year and ended up firing our OL coach? Hopefully this guy does a better job with XSF. That, a healthy Brown, and another OL prospect would make me a fan. :jogger:
 
PapaL said:
Isn't that what we ran last year and ended up firing our OL coach? Hopefully this guy does a better job with XSF. That, a healthy Brown, and another OL prospect would make me a fan. :jogger:
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I disliked the Dunn hiring from the get go. Imo, whoever was the one pulling the trigger on moving X everywhere along the oline early on is the primary reason X showed no progression.

Imagine being not only a rookie, but a rookie trying to learn 4-5 spots in a short period of time due to late graduation. I think X is smart, but dang, that's a lot to put on the young cats plate

I blame Dunn for practically setting our entire line back. Especially DB. He and Myers had a rough start to the season. I'm a big Brooks fan, but I think he regressed slightly rather than progress over last season
 
PapaL said:
Isn't that what we ran last year and ended up firing our OL coach?
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Yes but Dunn was our 3rd or 4th choice for doing it. I, and I think several others, saw a lot of confusion along the OL and a deemphasis on the backside cutblock in the ZBS plays. Our stretch plays almost always went front side this season and if the D got out and ran with us it was just a race to the corner. Foster used to kill people on the cut back and the option wasn't there very often this season.
 
Here's some bio I gleamed from various sources on the internet. It appears he has been a head OL coach for only one year, though he assisted some in previous years. He's mainly has been a TE coach, but it appears he did do a fine job last year coaching the Jet's OL.

.............


"Devlin, 45, was an NFL offensive lineman for seven seasons with Buffalo (1993-1995) and Arizona (1996-1999)."

"Devlin had been with the Jets since 2006, the first year for head coach Eric Mangini. Devlin was retained by Ryan when he arrived in 2009. Devlin coached the Jets' tight ends in 2006, and then again from 2008-12, while also assisting with the offensive line during those years. He worked with the offensive line in 2007. In 2013, he was promoted to head offensive line coach. He was the Jets' longest-tenured current assistant."

"The O-line integrated two new starters last season for the first time since the 2008 campaign. Former Super Bowl winner Willie Colon took over for the retired Brandon Moore at right guard and 2013 third-round selection Brian Winters took over at left guard. Despite the changes at guard, the Jets finished 2013 sixth in the league in rushing, gaining 134.9 yards per game on the ground as the offensive line paved the way for four 100-yard rushing efforts by two different backs, Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell. They also put forth an impressive finish, helping lead the Jets to a 3-1 record over the final four games while allowing just five total sacks, tied for the third-fewest in the league over that span."
 
Before the wheels fell off for Ryan , the Jets had one of or the best OL in the NFL . They led the league in rushing for several years . :splits:
 
Mike-Devlin-New-York-Jets.jpg


Lance's glowing endorsement is about as good an evaluation as we can want/get on an offensive line coach. He's very plugged in to the "trench life" world in college/pros.

Being held over as a position coach in a head coaching change, as Bill Kollar was for us, is a good indicator. Rex Ryan kept Devlin when he arrived. Devlin has experience coaching TEs as well as OL.

Devlin could have stayed with the Jets but jumped to the Texans instead. You could argue either side of that -- Jets org is a mess -- but I have been noticing some sentiment that players and coaches want to work with Bill O'Brien.

Devlin played in Buffalo for Wade Phillips, who on 610AM gave him a strong endorsement as "a real grinder who wasn't probably as physically gifted as other guys" in the league, said "he knows what to do and how to teach it".

This is from some New York blogger, evidently Mike Devlin works the NFL Combine, too:

Brian Bassett @BrianBassett
@StephStradley You will recognize him when you see him, helps out at Combine a lot in on field drills, maybe 40yd dash?

@StephStradley I like Devlin a lot. Recently moved up OL coach after coaching TEs for yrs. Good, but don't think he's the next Alex Gibbs
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Have to think O'Brien had this lined up ahead of the move.


Interesting outline from 2005...
Devlin has UT O-line perking

Mike Devlin coaches football the same way he played it - face first, no-holds-barred, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

That's why he has a couple fresh stitches inside what is a swollen upper lip. His mouth came in contact with a helmet during the University of Toledo's practice on Tuesday afternoon.

That he wasn't wearing one, too, was of no consideration.

It's the attitude that led, in 1992, to an offensive lineman standing no taller than 6-2, a guy at Iowa named Mike Devlin, earning All-America honors while finishing as the Big Ten's lineman of the year and as a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy that goes annually to the nation's top interior lineman.

It is how the same guy lasted for seven years in the National Football League, playing in two AFC championship games and one Super Bowl. That was Mike Devlin, too.

It is how a guy with no previous college coaching experience, who had never single-handedly coached an offensive line, gets hired to do just that at UT.

And it's a big reason why his current offensive line, stout but young, is clearing turf for the 15th-best rushing attack in the nation - 219.2 yards per game - while allowing five opponents just seven quarterback sacks.

"They work hard, very hard," the 35-year-old Devlin said of his linemen. "You know, there's a misnomer about O-linemen. People think you have to have five first-round draft picks to be great. All you really need is five good players to play together as one, to believe, to play with heart and passion."

After all, it's how their coach coaches.

Some might have been surprised he got the chance.

Devlin wasn't exactly a rookie. After he had "been retired," as he puts it, by his last NFL team, the Arizona Cardinals, he stayed on as an assistant offensive line and offensive quality control coach for four years. To equate it to college terms, he was a notch above a graduate assistant.

"There was a little risk, I guess, in hiring Mike," said UT head coach Tom Amstutz. "He'd never had his own line. He'd never coached in college. He was a mystery. But he intrigued me. I sensed he would coach the same way he played, with hard work and toughness. Of course, it didn't hurt he had some legendary coaching in his blood."

The legend was John Devlin, who spent 40 years as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator at seven big-time college programs - Virginia Tech, Florida State and Maryland, to name a few - and with the NFL's Houston Oilers before settling late in his career at Bloomsburg State University in Pennsylvania. The elder Devlin passed away in the late 1990s.

"My dad was the type of guy who'd make you feel like you could go through a brick wall," Devlin said. "You couldn't, of course, but you'd be willing to try. He had a tremendous ability to communicate. I remember there were times when I'd have a terrible game, then I'd sit down and watch film with him. He had a way of lifting a kid's spirits. You came away feeling you weren't that bad."

And, of course, the younger Devlin wasn't. Not at Iowa, where he - an offensive lineman, for goodness sakes - was named the Big Ten's MVP by the Chicago Tribune. Not with the Buffalo Bills, where he played in Super Bowl XXVII against the victorious Dallas Cowboys. Not during four seasons in the desert with the Cardinals. And, finally, not as a coach.

"I think there are issues anytime a college is considering hiring a pro guy," Devlin said. "The biggest is, can he teach? In the pros, players come somewhat fine-tuned with a good base. So the question was whether I could come here and coach a guy from scratch.

"The other big concern, of course, is recruiting. Stutz sat down and gave me his principles, told me about his style. I hope someday I can do what he does:pretty much look at someone and know. He has an uncanny knack of guessing right on kids."

And assistant coaches.

Devlin said UT's linemen know about his background.

"They sniff it out," he said. "But if I ever talk about it, they fine me. You can't live in the past, you know."

But the subject of the NFL does come up, especially with last year's Toledo O-line star, Nick Kaczur, now playing regularly for the New England Patriots.

"I talk about how he got there and what NFL teams are looking for," Devlin said. "But my No. 1 tip is that they can't think about it. They just have to play every day with unbelievable pace and passion and let the chips fall as they may. At the end of the day, you have to look in the mirror and know you laid it all on the line on the field, in class, and in life. Then you thank the good Lord you had the chance."

Devlin's background is chronicled in the UT media guide, so it wasn't all that difficult for his linemen to digest his past.

But here's something they might not know.

When Devlin was drafted in the fifth round in the spring of 1993, he left Iowa at 294 pounds. During his NFL career, he peaked at about 320 pounds.

After leaving the playing field, he vowed he would never again step on a scale. Two years later, though, he forced himself. The number was 415.

"It was a fun trip getting there," he said, chuckling. "But I had three little kids and I looked at them one day and realized I didn't want to die on them. You know, there are studies that say NFL linemen have shorter life spans to begin with. I was morbidly obese. I had no energy. I had no quality of life. I felt I had to do something drastic and I had to do it quickly."

So Devlin had gastric bypass surgery. He didn't tell his wife, Julie, until just one week before it was scheduled. And she was about the only person he told. It was done in the offseason on a Wednesday and he was back at work the following Monday.

"I lost 100 pounds in the first month and everybody thought I was sick, so I had to tell people I'd had it done," Devlin said. "It saved my life."

Devlin weighs about 250 these days and feels better than ever, which is why he was the first man in on Tuesday when tempers flared and a little scuffle broke out among UT players getting ready for Saturday at Ball State.

"The back of somebody's helmet got me," he said. "I'll live."

Face first, always, right into that brick wall.

"It's the only way I know," Devlin said.
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Last edited:
I like 2 facts

1. He's an Iowa/New England guy. (I k\like the scheme that they run.

2. BOB didn't have a celebrated 9-7 season, with a weak schedule like in 2009. He knows the team needs to improve and this is the 1st step. Next step is to get ready for the draft and Smith getting moved up and Gaine taking over will be the next. BOB know they have to improve over last yrs pathetic draft.

In a way this offseason will tell me if BOB has the pull that I think he has.

Viva Las Vegas
 
Playoffs said:
Mike-Devlin-New-York-Jets.jpg


Lance's glowing endorsement is about as good an evaluation as we can want/get on an offensive line coach. He's very plugged in to the "trench life" world in college/pros.

Being held over as a position coach in a head coaching change, as Bill Kollar was for us, is a good indicator. Rex Ryan kept Devlin when he arrived. Devlin has experience coaching TEs as well as OL.

Devlin could have stayed with the Jets but jumped to the Texans instead. You could argue either side of that -- Jets org is a mess -- but I have been noticing some sentiment that players and coaches want to work with Bill O'Brien.

Devlin played in Buffalo for Wade Phillips, who on 610AM gave him a strong endorsement as "a real grinder who wasn't probably as physically gifted as other guys" in the league, said "he knows what to do and how to teach it".

This is from some New York blogger, evidently Mike Devlin works the NFL Combine, too:

Brian Bassett @BrianBassett
​

Have to think O'Brien had this lined up ahead of the move.


Interesting outline from 2005...
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Man, this is a guy I want coaching the OL. Probably means a OL wont be picked until the 4-5th rd. I still hope if he falls that TJ Clemmings is the choice at 16 if Parker isn't there.

However I do feel like the OL is in better hands and Devlin is a huge upgrade. Look at The NYJ OL, other than Ferguson/Mangold I bet even the most ardent fpptball guy couldn't tell me who the other 3 starters were off of the top of there head. Ivory ran well and I didn't see pass pro being an issue. But With Geno, he can make any teams offense look terrible 7-8 times a yr. That dude is terrible.

Viva Las Vegas
 
steelbtexan said:
BOB didn't have a celebrated 9-7 season, with a weak schedule like in 2009.
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What?

OB just had a 9-7 season with a weak schedule and there is quite a bit of koolaid and rejoicing over it. What are you possibly criticizing now? That a city and team celebrated their first winning season a little.
 
A big part of the success or failure of a head coach is determined by the asst. coaches that he surrounds himself with. I really like the dynamic mentality of looking for every way to upgrade the team. Winning in the trenches is one of the more important aspects of consistently successful teams.
 
infantrycak said:
What?

OB just had a 9-7 season with a weak schedule and there is quite a bit of koolaid and rejoicing over it. What are you possibly criticizing now? That a city and team celebrated their first winning season a little.
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The Texans are done with that attitude that it's OK to have sleep apnea surgery after a season like this one. Plus I will not receive an email telling me how great this season was and how the Texans org is doing everything possible to put the best team on the filed next yr , while the HC is missing the combine to have said surgery.

BOB is a breath of fresh air that has been breathed into the Texans org.
 
steelbtexan said:
Man, this is a guy I want coaching the OL. Probably means a OL wont be picked until the 4-5th rd. I still hope if he falls that TJ Clemmings is the choice at 16 if Parker isn't there.

However I do feel like the OL is in better hands and Devlin is a huge upgrade. Look at The NYJ OL, other than Ferguson/Mangold I bet even the most ardent fpptball guy couldn't tell me who the other 3 starters were off of the top of there head. Ivory ran well and I didn't see pass pro being an issue. But With Geno, he can make any teams offense look terrible 7-8 times a yr. That dude is terrible.

Viva Las Vegas
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Well, I know Texans fans SHOULD know the a-hole Slauson from NYJ!
 
steelbtexan said:
2. BOB didn't have a celebrated 9-7 season, with a weak schedule like in 2009.
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:facepalm:

It was only celebrated because it was our first winning season ever.

& it's not like there was a parade or anything. It was pretty much the same "good job" that OB got.
 
steelbtexan said:
Man, this is a guy I want coaching the OL. Probably means a OL wont be picked until the 4-5th rd.
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Why is that?

Here's PFF ranking of the Jets line in 2014 (they were ranked 26th in 2013).

13. New York Jets (26th)
Pass Blocking Ranking: 8th, Run Blocking Ranking: 19th, Penalties Ranking: 23rd
Stud: The leader of this group, Nick Mangold, was back to his best this year and topped our center rankings before going down hurt.
Dud: Brian Winters earned his benching with a terrible -15.3 grade on only 381 snaps.
Breakdown: They got better when Oday Aboushi moved into the lineup. The move to bring in Breno Giacomini was a moderate success with him holding down the right side without being a liability. However, as a whole, the group gave whoever was behind center ample time to miss their targets.
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23rd in penalties sounds high. But, I think personnel has more to do with effectiveness. Very few coaches (Alex Gibbs in Denver for one) can take mediocre talent and mold a top notch unit. After QB, I think the offensive and defensive lines are the most important aspects of a NFL team. You don't skimp there.
 
Lucky said:
Why is that?

Here's PFF ranking of the Jets line in 2014 (they were ranked 26th in 2013).


23rd in penalties sounds high. But, I think personnel has more to do with effectiveness. Very few coaches (Alex Gibbs in Denver for one) can take mediocre talent and mold a top notch unit. After QB, I think the offensive and defensive lines are the most important aspects of a NFL team. You don't skimp there.
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1. Has experience running the scheme that BOB wants,
2. Geno/Vick will make any OL look bad.
3. There's more talent on the Texans draft than there is the Jets. Especially after the Texans draft a couple of OL in this yrs draft. My favorite under the radar OL in this draft is Rob Crisp. He has as much potential as any OL in this draft. 2 yrs ago he had a problem with concussions. You should check his him out and tell me what you think.

Viva Las Vegas
 
steelbtexan said:
1. Has experience running the scheme that BOB wants,
2. Geno/Vick will make any OL look bad.
3. There's more talent on the Texans draft than there is the Jets. Especially after the Texans draft a couple of OL in this yrs draft. My favorite under the radar OL in this draft is Rob Crisp. He has as much potential as any OL in this draft. 2 yrs ago he had a problem with concussions. You should check his him out and tell me what you think.

Viva Las Vegas
Click to expand...

So now Rick Smith + Draft = good :thinking:
 
steelbtexan said:
My favorite under the radar OL in this draft is Rob Crisp. He has as much potential as any OL in this draft. 2 yrs ago he had a problem with concussions. You should check his him out and tell me what you think.

Viva Las Vegas
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That's all fine. I hope the guy is cleared and gets his opportunity. But, the Texans may lose their RT in free agency. If so, they may have to look at the draft to replace him. I don't see OT off the table just because Devlin was hired as the coach.
 
What is encouraging for me is that here we have a first year head coach, so quickly into the evaluation process following the season's end, identifying an area which needs upgrading and not hesitating to make the change.

Despite the numerous interviews during the season, I would hazard a guess that OB has been aware, for some time, that our OL has under performed to his liking.
 
Wade Smith ‏@Smitty74allday
Congrats to Mike Devlin becoming the new Oline coach 4 the @HoustonTexans. Smart coach that will teach. He will do well in #Htown #Salute
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That make two Wades that endorse the hire.
 
I like that BoB saw a deficiency and made a change. Lord knows that not something we're use to with our previous coaching staffs. I just don't see what the hubhub is about this guy. OL coach for 2 years (1 in college and 1 in the pros) and TE Coach for 6. Assisting with OL is fancy talk for not responsible at the end of the day. But like they say those that can't do, teach.
 
PapaL said:
For us, me, that are naive - why is he an upgrade? What does he bring to the table?
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I'm with you. The guy we just fired had the 5th best (overall) rated O-line in the NFL.
What makes everyone so damned sure that this new guy will be an upgrade??
 
ObsiWan said:
I'm with you. The guy we just fired had the 5th best (overall) rated O-line in the NFL.
What makes everyone so damned sure that this new guy will be an upgrade??
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cuz Dunn should have had them at 3rd best at least :cow:
 
ObsiWan said:
I'm with you. The guy we just fired had the 5th best (overall) rated O-line in the NFL.
What makes everyone so damned sure that this new guy will be an upgrade??
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JB said:
cuz Dunn should have had them at 3rd best at least :cow:
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Seth Payne laughed about it and then said he doesn't laugh at people losing their jobs . He does laugh at coaches who scream and berate players when they lose their jobs though . :tiphat:
 
infantrycak said:
The Jets were a straight up ZBS team but they have mixed in gap and man over the last year. That may be the mix OB wants and thinks Devlin has done a good job with it.
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yup. i'm a fan of this signing. Devlin's got experience playing, and he's done pretty well working multiple systems over the last several years at the NFL level. i may be a bit premature with praise, but this looks like an amazing hire.

in most areas of the offense we simply out-played our coaching this year. offensive line was definitely one of those. we improved our traps, some pulls got better and some worse, and work from the shotgun was infinitely better, but everything else was from the previous regime - and the play designs couldn't properly use that scheme. there was an impossible number of stretch and off-tackle zone runs that could've resulted in huge gains, but the interior and backside scheme was completely wrong. devlin appears to be able to combine all of our ingredients. this is a running game that turned a bunch of castoffs into the best line in football, made slaton and ron dayne look good, and turned an undrafted free agent into a superstar. newton's JAG, and jones is out the door if XSF gets proper coaching - this could very well be the biggest move we make all year.
 
So what does this hire mean scheme wise? What does this guy do better than the previous coach? Will we become more of a power running team or will we continue to rely more on zone blocking as our main blocking scheme?
 
mussop said:
So what does this hire mean scheme wise? What does this guy do better than the previous coach? Will we become more of a power running team or will we continue to rely more on zone blocking as our main blocking scheme?
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He was a ZBS player and has primarily coached ZBS but over the last 2 seasons the Jets have mixed in more power running. I don't think it indicates a change at all in scheme.
 
Any of the PFF guys here have any metrics for Willie Colon?

Curious if a seasoned vet like him might be interested in following his OL coach here as an affordable/effective plug and play RG.
 
Mollywhopper said:
Any of the PFF guys here have any metrics for Willie Colon?
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Colon rated -16.3 overall putting him 66th/78 Gs (>25% snaps) but has an unusual line...

His pass pro grade of +6.9 puts him 12th/78 Gs,

his run block grade of -16.3 puts him 75th/78 Gs,

but his penalty grade of -7.4 puts him 78th/78 Gs.
 
Playoffs said:
Colon rated -16.3 overall putting him 66th/78 Gs (>25% snaps) but has an unusual line...

His pass pro grade of +6.9 puts him 12th/78 Gs,

his run block grade of -16.3 puts him 75th/78 Gs,

but his penalty grade of -7.4 puts him 78th/78 Gs.
Click to expand...

Eegads. One part Jekyll for three parts Hyde ain't gonna fly.

Oh well, just a thought. Thanks for the look.
 
Mollywhopper said:
Playoffs said:
Colon rated -16.3 overall putting him 66th/78 Gs (>25% snaps) but has an unusual line...

His pass pro grade of +6.9 puts him 12th/78 Gs,

his run block grade of -16.3 puts him 75th/78 Gs,

but his penalty grade of -7.4 puts him 78th/78 Gs.
Click to expand...

Eegads. One part Jekyll for three parts Hyde ain't gonna fly.

Oh well, just a thought. Thanks for the look.
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I wouldn't put too much stock in those numbers. If Devlin brings him in, then he knows something those numbers don't. You know the OL is a group & really should be looked at as such.

Was your boy Colon the bright spot, or the weak link? Maybe he was the only one who got what Devlin was saying.

I don't know the guy, but if he's young enough & clearly demonstrates the ability to perform consistently at a high level... & Devlin likes him, why not?
 
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