Houston Texans Head Coach Says God Guides Him ‘For The Good Of His Kingdom’
HOUSTON — DeMeco Ryans required no introduction as he stepped to the pulpit on a recent Sunday night.
Neither fellow members of the Fifth Ward Church of Christ nor fans of the Houston Texans — the NFL team where Ryans serves as head coach — need to be told his name.
“I am grateful and honored and humbled for this opportunity to stand before you tonight,” Ryans said after Houston’s oldest Black congregation sang familiar hymns such as “Jesus Is Coming Soon” and “We’re Marching to Zion.”
Ryans first placed membership with the Fifth Ward church in 2006, his rookie season as a Texans linebacker. He thanked the elders, especially Barry Gibson, for “hyping up” his guest sermon and “getting everybody to show up.”
“Brother Barry, he challenges me,” Ryans said. “He’s motivated me, always, to step out of my comfort zone and teach and now preach and serve.
“I get it, y’all,” the 40-year-old deacon added. “He’s my elder-coach.”
Ryans’ quip drew laughter from the congregation, which knows the coach — who has led the Texans to two straight AFC South division titles — as a devoted Christian who oversees Fifth Ward’s visitors ministry.
The former All-Pro linebacker expressed appreciation, too, to his wife, Jamila, and their four children: 11-year-old son M.J., 8-year-old daughter Xia, 6-year-old son Micah and 15-month-old daughter Zuri.
“Thank you so much for your love and support,” Ryans said to his family, sitting in the pews.
“They’ve helped me a lot with this sermon,” he told the congregation. “They’ve heard it a few times through it all — through a dog barking, through my baby girl preaching louder than me — but we made it through.”
Texans fan Dianna Bogany, a member of the True Light Missionary Baptist Church in Houston, came to hear him speak.
Bogany said she believes Ryans’ faith can benefit the Texans, who won wildcard playoff games the past two seasons but lost in the divisional round.
“I would like to see him get the team to the next level,” Bogany said.
Coach grew up going to VBS
Ryans’ sermon coincided with the start of Vacation Bible School at Fifth Ward, just off heavily traveled Interstate 10 in view of high-rises and Daikin Park, home of MLB’s Houston Astros.
The church — about 11 miles from NRG Stadium, where the Texans play — traces its roots to the 1930s tent revivals of the famous traveling evangelist Marshall Keeble.
Sunday in-person attendance typically ranges between 750 and 850. Hundreds more watch online.
Like most of the members, Ryans wore a gray T-shirt with white letters declaring, “In His Service, Fifth Ward Church of Christ, 2025.”
The 6-foot-1, 247-pound athlete sported a dark blazer over his casual shirt.
“It’s VBS time for us, guys, and VBS is always an exciting time of year,” said Ryans, who grew up in the Bessemer 24th Street Church of Christ in Alabama, where his cousin Joe Cash preached and is now an elder.
“I remember always going to VBS,” he added. “It was always a fun-filled thing, right, that was geared toward the young and the young at heart and growing closer to God. And so I pray that this message tonight will do the same for you.”
‘We just knew him as a brother in Christ’
When Ryans first started visiting Fifth Ward nearly two decades ago, pulpit minister Gary Smith didn’t realize he played football.
“We didn’t know it for maybe a few months, and somebody says, ‘That’s DeMeco Ryans,’” said Smith, a Houston native who played wide receiver at Southern Methodist University alongside future NFL Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson.
“We just knew him as a brother in Christ,” added the preacher, whose family has called Fifth Ward home for 55 years. “He’s always been faithful. Even after they have Sunday games, he’ll come to worship on Sunday nights.”
For his part, Ryans said Smith has meant everything to him.
“Just being here at Fifth Ward and listening to him and his sermons and seeing his leadership, I’ve just admired him for always being very relatable in the pulpit,” the coach told The Christian Chronicle. “It’s something I can resonate with.
“And just his humble spirit — it’s been outstanding to be under him,” Ryans added. “This community here at Fifth Ward, they welcomed me in when I was a player, and they’ve seen me grow over almost 20 years.”
Ryans finds strength in Christ
In Ryans’ senior season with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2005, his defensive prowess earned him All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The Texans selected him in the second round — the 33rd overall pick — in the 2006 NFL draft. The Associated Press named him Defensive Rookie of the Year in the first of his six seasons with Houston (2006-2011).
He played his final four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (2012-2015), worshiping with the Sunset Road Church of Christ in nearby Burlington, N.J., during that time.
Ryans later coached six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2017-2022), the final two as defensive coordinator, before the Texans hired him as head coach in 2023. While in Northern California, he attended the Campbell Church of Christ.
“I stand on my faith because I know that’s what’s sustained me,” Ryans told the Chronicle. “People see the accolades, the success and all those things.
“But I know me,” he added. “I’ve never been the best in sports or anything like that. But I just know how God has guided me and led me to be where I am today. I stand on my faith because I know it’s Christ who gives me strength through everything that I do and allows me to be used for the good of his kingdom.”
A biblical superhero
Fifth Ward’s VBS featured the theme “God’s Heroes Don’t Need Masks or Capes.”
Keeping with that theme, Ryans’ sermon focused on the transformation of a biblical superhero: Peter.
The coach detailed the disciple’s journey from denying Jesus three times on the night of the Savior’s arrest to preaching the first gospel sermon on the Day of Pentecost.
“Everybody loves a good comeback story,” Ryans said.
He took just a few moments away from the Scriptures to offer a gridiron example: C.J. Stroud’s touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining in a 2023 game that gave Houston an improbable 39-37 win over Tampa Bay.
“Allow Jesus to take your ordinary and make it extraordinary,” Ryans said before the church stood for the invitation song, “O Why Not Tonight?” “Let tonight be your turning point, your comeback moment.”
In the closing announcements, Otis Phillips — one of Fifth Ward’s five elders — praised the sermon.
“You did an excellent job,” he told Ryans. “Even when you started here as a player, you were faithful. And now you’re the head coach of the Texans, and you’re faithful.”
“Now you’re a preacher!” someone in the crowd shouted, as the church guffawed and applauded.
Among the Fifth Ward members who appreciated the sermon was Cecil Cooper, a retired slugger who played 17 seasons with the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers and managed the Astros from 2007 to 2009.
“Outstanding! Outstanding!” Cooper said of Ryans’ message. “He has a presence about him. I love that.”
Serving others ‘matters the most’
After the service, Fifth Ward members and guests alike lined up to shake hands with Ryans and thank him for his sermon.
But greeting visitors is not new for the coach.
He does it all the time in his role as a deacon.
“Me and my team, we make sure all the visitors get a warm welcome,” the coach said. “We reach out to them and try to make sure they stay connected, and hopefully they come back and visit again.”
Church leaders assigned that duty to him.
“I told our elders, ‘Put me wherever you need me,’” Ryans said. “So for me, it’s just about serving. It really doesn’t matter to me in what area. As long as I can serve and help others, that’s what matters the most.”
This article originally appeared in The Christian Chronicle.
Bobby Ross Jr. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.