DeMeco Ryans adds former Eagles teammates Darren Sproles and Jordan Hicks as Bill Walsh coaching fellows

The Texans head coach is bringing two familiar faces back into the NFL coaching pipeline through the league’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

By The Apex Times Newsroom3 min readAI-assisted Apex article

Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans is adding Darren Sproles and Jordan Hicks to the team’s offseason coaching group as Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship participants, according to Pro Football Rumors. The hiring fits Ryans’ wider approach of leaning on relationships and shared football experience as he continues shaping a staff around his standards and defensive-first identity.

Ryans, a former Texans standout turned NFL coach, spent the last four years of his playing career in Philadelphia, overlapping with Sproles in 2014 and 2015. Pro Football Rumors also reported that Ryans mentored Hicks during Hicks’ rookie season with the Eagles, which makes the Texans reunion more than a résumé check. In Houston, the project is both personal and professional: taking two former teammates and placing them alongside current Texans coaches during the most critical learning windows of the offseason.

The Texans are not only adding those two fellows. A KPRC2 report says Houston has nine Bill Walsh coaching fellowships in total on its staff this year. Along with Sproles and Hicks, the fellowship group includes Rice University receivers coach Brian Brown; Bethune Cookman special teams coordinator-running backs coach Patrick Brown; Middle Tennessee offensive line coach Christopher Browne; I Am Life Lifted sports performance coach Kate Decker; Tulane running backs coach Brock Hays; Mississippi State assistant defensive line coach Jermauria Rasco; and former Texans receiver Harry Williams, currently an offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Tuskegee University.

The Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship is structured to give candidates real NFL exposure during training camps and offseason programs. NFL Football Operations describes the objective as using club minicamps, offseason workout programs, and training camps for fellows to observe and participate, gain experience, and ultimately position them for full-time coaching opportunities. The NFL notes the program is designed as a vocational tool to broaden the pool of diverse talent considered for full-time NFL coaching, with all 32 clubs participating each year and hiring, compensation, and coaching duties handled on a club-by-club basis.

For Houston, the immediate value is straightforward but not always flashy. Fellowships like this expand the coaching bandwidth during offseason periods when teams are evaluating teaching style, practice reps, and day-to-day communication. Sproles’ and Hicks’ backgrounds also provide natural curriculum content: return and running back specifics for Sproles, and linebacker fundamentals and player development for Hicks. Even without a guaranteed path to a full-time role, the Texans can assess whether their teaching approach matches Ryans’ expectations as the staff enters the busiest stretch of the year.

There is also a broader talent-development message inside the move. The NFL’s fellowship framework is explicitly designed to create coaching opportunities by integrating fellows into NFL environments, and the Texans’ willingness to bring in former teammates suggests Ryans wants the program to be part of his culture building, not just a one-time placement. Pro Football Rumors further reported that Sproles was originally expected to join Sean Payton’s staff in Denver, but will instead work with Ryans, Hicks, and the rest of Houston’s Bill Walsh fellows.

The next thing to watch is continuity. Texans fans should pay attention to whether the fellowship participants are integrated into position-group preparation in a way that indicates long-term interest beyond the offseason. More broadly, the outcomes for Sproles and Hicks will fit into a yearly question the league’s fellowship is meant to answer: which candidates translate NFL camp participation into the next step of a full-time coaching job.

keyFacts

Why It Matters

It strengthens the Texans’ offseason coaching depth by adding experienced former players who can contribute to position-group fundamentals.
It reinforces the Bill Walsh Fellowship’s role as a pipeline from training-camp exposure to potential full-time coaching jobs.
It highlights Ryans’ staff-building philosophy, leaning on trusted relationships and shared football experience.
Depending on how the fellows are utilized, it could influence future staffing decisions heading into training camp and the regular season.
It adds another chapter to Houston’s diversity hiring strategy within the broader NFL coaching-development ecosystem.

Sources

Key Facts

DeMeco Ryans is adding former teammates Darren Sproles and Jordan Hicks to the Houston Texans staff as Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship participants.
Pro Football Rumors reported that Ryans overlapped with Sproles in Philadelphia in 2014 and 2015, and that Ryans mentored Hicks during Hicks’ Eagles rookie season.
KPRC2 reported the Texans have nine Bill Walsh coaching fellowships in total on the staff this offseason.
Other Houston Bill Walsh fellows named by KPRC2 include Brian Brown (Rice), Patrick Brown (Bethune Cookman), Christopher Browne (Middle Tennessee State), Kate Decker (I Am Life Lifted), Brock Hays (Tulane), Jermauria Rasco (Mississippi State), and Harry Williams (Tuskegee).
NFL Football Operations describes the Bill Walsh Fellowship as a vocational program intended to help fellows observe, participate, gain experience, and ultimately earn full-time NFL coaching opportunities.
Pro Football Rumors reported that Sproles was initially expected to work with Sean Payton’s staff in Denver, but will instead join Ryans and Hicks in Houston.