NFL award recognizes Texans' Ryans as best assistant coach: 'That's why we got him'

New Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans is having quite the start to the month of February. 

First, the National Football League (NFL) franchise that drafted him out of the University of Alabama with a second-round pick in 2006 tabbed them their next leader on the sidelines. 

Second, The Associated Press (AP) named him the recipient of its 2022 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year accolade on Thursday for the work he put in in what turned out to be his final season as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator.

The award was among the many announced at NFL Honors, an event the league holds before the big game. 

Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will be played in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday. 

Per a report on NFL.com, the 38-year-old Ryans presided over a 49ers defense that surrendered the fewest points and yards in the 2022 regular season, a first for the team.

He secured 206 points to best Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who garnered 113, for the award, the report said. 

Both Ryans’ current and former employers praised him on Twitter. 

The 49ers, who fell to the Eagles in the National Football Conference (NFC) championship game on Sunday, Jan. 29, tweeted, “Congrats @DRyans59 on being named the AP Assistant Coach of the Year!” 

The Texans, in turn, quoted the tweet writing, “That's why we got him.”

Houston Daily reported that the Texans beat out the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts late last month to secure Ryans’ services.

Houston, which won a combined 11 games through the previous three seasons, inked their ex-linebacker to a six-year deal for an undisclosed amount.

Soon-to-be second-year Texans rusher Dameon Pierce took home the Angry Run of the Year award presented by NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” 

Pierce, a 2022 late-round pick, was recognized for his 20-yard jog against the Jacksonville Jaguars during Week Five, one of the Texans’ three wins. 

It took multiple Jaguars defensive players to bring the ex-Florida Gator down. 

“[He’s] still picking teal out of his teeth,” "Good Morning Football" host Kyle Brandt said of Pierce during the introduction of the accolade’s nominees at NFL Honors.