DeNarius McGhee enters his fourth season as an offensive assistant with the Houston Texans in 2023. McGhee owns nine years of coaching experience, including six at the collegiate level, following a decorated playing career at Montana State.
In McGhee's third season with the Texans he helped T Laremy Tunsil earn his third Pro Bowl selection, finish with the top pass blocking grade (91.7) among all NFL linemen according to Pro Football Focus, and allow just 1.0 sack. WR Brandin Cooks tallied his 600th career reception and recorded his ninth consecutive season with 500-plus receiving yards, making him one-of-five receivers to accomplish that feat since he entered the league in 2014. Seventh-year WR Chris Moore had a career-season, hauling in two touchdowns and recording highs in receptions (48), yards (548) and single-game receiving yards (124, Week 14 at Dallas). Fifth-year TE Jordan Akins finished the season averaging a career-high 13.38 yards per reception on 37 catches, ranking as the best among all NFL tight ends.
Despite only playing 13 games due to injury, newcomer rookie RB Dameon Pierce tallied the third-most rushing yards (1,050), third-most scrimmage yards (1,104), most rushing yards per game (72.2), most scrimmage yards per game (84.9), most yards after contact (38.9), most broken tackles (35) and the highest elusive ratings (98.5) among all NFL rookies in 2022. Pierce finished the season ranked third in Texans rookie rushing yards and the third-best rookie rushing performance with 139 yards in Week 9 against the Eagles.
In 2021, McGhee helped mentor QB Davis Mills, who completed 263-of-394 passes to record the third-best completion percentage (66.8) by a rookie in NFL history. Mills recorded three games with a passer rating of 125.0 or higher, tied for second-most by a rookie quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, and became the first rookie in NFL history to finish a game with 300-plus passing yards, three-plus passing touchdowns and a passer rating of 140.0 or higher against New England in Week 5 (10/10). Mills also led all NFL quarterbacks with a 116.8 passer rating in the red zone for the 2021 season.
In 2020, McGhee helped coach one of the most explosive offenses in the league as the Texans led the NFL in yards per play (6.38), yards per reception (12.6) and 20-plus yard receptions (70). The unit also notched the fourth-most net passing yards per game (283.6) and finished tied for eighth in passing touchdowns (33) in the NFL. The Texans set a franchise record with 12 different players recording at least one touchdown reception on the season, which was only one shy of the NFL record.
McGhee came to Houston after three seasons (2017-19) on staff at his alma mater, Montana State. He coached quarterbacks in 2017 and running backs from 2018-19, capped off by an 11-win campaign in 2019 that marked the Bobcats' first season with double-digit wins since McGhee quarterbacked the team in 2012. McGhee also served as a recruiting coordinator in his final season with the program.
McGhee spent two seasons (2015-16) as a graduate assistant at North Carolina State after beginning his coaching career as a quality control coach at Florida Atlantic in 2014.
A four-year starter at Montana State, McGhee stands as the school's all-time winningest quarterback, holds program records in career passing yards (11,203) and touchdowns (79) and remains the only player in program history to win Big Sky MVP twice (2010 and 2012). He led the Bobcats to conference championships in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and garnered all-American recognition as a freshman (2010) and junior (2012).
A native of Euless, Texas, McGhee graduated from Montana State with a bachelor's degree in business management and marketing. He and his wife, Alethia, reside in Houston with their son, Xzavier, and daughter, Grace.
Pro Bowl Players Coached (2):Â T Laremy Tunsil (2020, 2022), QB Deshaun Watson (2020)
