The Houston Texans have hired Larry Izzo as special teams coordinator, Sean Ryan as wide receivers coach and Anthony Weaver as defensive line coach.
Izzo joins the Texans staff after spending five seasons (2011-15) as the New York Giants assistant special teams coach, where he was a part of the team's Super Bowl XLVI victory. In 2015, the Giants ranked fifth in opponent kickoff return average (20.3) and tied for first in field goal percentage (93.8). New York was also seventh in the NFL in punt return average (10.2) and 10th in kickoff return average (24.9). The 41-year-old Izzo, who is from Fort Belvoir, Va., attended McCullough High School in Houston and was a four-year letterman and three-year starter at Rice University.
In his 14-year NFL career as a player (1996-09), Izzo played for three teams, including the Miami Dolphins (1996-2000), New England Patriots (2001-08) and New York Jets (2009). He was a three-time Super Bowl champion with New England (2001, 2003 and 2004) and a three-time Pro Bowl selection (2000, 2002 and 2004). Izzo was credited with 275 special teams tackles in 200 career regular season games and 23 more in 21 postseason appearances. He never played on a team with a losing record as his teams participated in the playoffs nine times, reaching five AFC Championship Games and four Super Bowls. His teammates selected him as a special teams captain nine times, including eight with the Patriots.
Ryan comes to Houston after spending the previous two seasons (2014-15) as the wide receivers coach for the New York Giants. Ryan spent nine total seasons (2007-15) on Tom Coughlin's staff in New York, where he was a part of two Super Bowl victories (XLII, XLVI) and helped with the development of multiple young receivers, including Odell Beckham Jr., who broke the franchise rookie records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2014. Ryan also served as offensive quality control coach (2007-10) and quarterbacks coach (2012-14) in New York to go along with his two stints as wide receivers coach (2010-11 and 2014-15). The Giants' wide receivers were very productive in their first two seasons under Ryan (2010-11). In 2011, the unit helped the Giants set a franchise record with 4,734 net passing yards.
Ryan, a native of Hudson Falls, N.Y., began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Albany (1998-99). He had stops at Colgate University (2000), Boston College (2001-02) and Columbia (2003-04) before serving as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Harvard for one season (2006). The 43-year-old Ryan played defensive back and outside linebacker at Hamilton College, where he graduated in 1994 with a degree in American studies. He also earned a master's degree in higher education administration from Albany.
Weaver will serve as the Texans defensive line coach after spending the previous two seasons (2014-15) in the same role with the Cleveland Browns. In 2014, Weaver's unit contributed to a defense that led the league in opposing quarterback passer rating (74.1) and finished tied for fourth in the NFL in takeaways (29).
In 2013, Weaver served as the defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills, where his defensive linemen accounted for 47 of the Bills' 57 sacks, a franchise record and the second-most in the NFL in 2013. Weaver spent the 2012 season as the assistant defensive line coach with the New York Jets. He also served a year (2011) as the linebackers coach at North Texas after beginning his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at Florida in 2010.
Prior to his coaching career, Weaver played seven seasons (2002-08) as a defensive end in the NFL, including four with the Baltimore Ravens (2002-05) and three with the Texans at the end of his career (2006-08). After being drafted in the second round by the Ravens in 2002, Weaver appeared in 103 career regular season games (98 starts) and recorded 260 tackles, 15.5 sacks, three interceptions, five forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. A native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the 35-year-old Weaver was a four-year starter at Notre Dame and earned All-America honors as a standout college player.
