Report: Texans to hire ex-Colts defensive line coach Nate Ollie for assistant coaching job

It will be the second former Colts assistant coach the Texans have hired in as many years.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Texans are hiring former Indianapolis Colts defensive line coach Nate Ollie as their new assistant defensive line coach:

“The team also hired former Colts defensive line coach Nathan Ollie to be their new assistant defensive line coach, the source said.”

It will be the second former Colts assistant coach the Texans have hired in as many years, as Indy’s AFC South rival also hired ex-offensive line coach Chris Strausser last offseason.

Ollie had spent the past two seasons as the Colts defensive line coach, but his contract was not renewed by Indianapolis after the season—and his former role was eventually filled by the University of Pittsburgh’s Charlie Partridge.

At first glance, Ollie not being retained was somewhat surprising given that the Colts set an Indianapolis franchise record with 51.0 total team sacks.

That being said, the Colts have invested heavily into their defensive line, including two first round picks (Kwity Paye and a traded first round pick for DeForest Buckner), as well as a second round pick (Dayo Odeyingbo) and roughly a combined $18M between Grover Stewart and Samson Ebukam this past season.

The individual pass rush effectiveness and win rates were necessarily elite, and one could make the case that the Colts pass rush stalled a bit to close out the season—including in a season-ending loss to the Houston Texans and quarterback C.J. Stroud in the regular season finale.