After he’d greeted the last of his players headed toward the visitors’ locker room, Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans leaned against the cinder-block hallway wall inside Lucas Oil Stadium. The Texans had just beaten the Indianapolis Colts 23-19 in a win-and-in game for both teams on Saturday during the final weekend of the NFL regular season.

Ryans bowed his head, clasp his hands and bent over for a moment before joining the celebration with the players in the locker room.

During his Monday press conference, Ryans was asked about what NFL Films had recorded after the Texans came off the field headed for the playoffs.

“During that moment, I was just thankful, really thankful to be in this position,” Ryans said. “Thankful for our guys and the way they fought. Everything that we’ve been through throughout the whole year, just taking it all in. Been through a lot of ups and downs, and for us to grind through the season and find a way to get an opportunity in the playoffs was a special moment, one I’ll always remember. It was moment just of gratitude. …

“All glory, honor and praise goes to God. He’s just blessed us throughout this entire season.”

Coupled with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 28-20 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Houston’s victory over the Colts gave the Texans the AFC South title and the accompanying home game in the first round of the playoffs.

The Texans will play the Cleveland Browns at 3:30 p.m. CST Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston. NBC will televise the game.

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Ryans led the Texans to a 10-7 record in his first season as a head coach. Houston had won 11 games in the previous three seasons under four coaches when it hired Ryans in January. He came aboard from working as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator.

The Texans made NFL history with their showing. Houston became the first team to win a division title with a first-year head coach and a rookie quarterback. The second selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, C.J. Stroud threw for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions in 15 games.

Four other teams have made the playoffs with a first-year head coach and a rookie quarterback, but they were wild-card qualifiers. The list includes the quarterback who will oppose Houston on Saturday, but that was 15 years ago with the Baltimore Ravens for Browns QB Joe Flacco.

As a coach, Ryans said he didn’t try to pretend to be anything but what he is.

“I’m an energetic person,” Ryans said. “That’s just who I am, and I don’t change who I am just when I start coaching. That’s who I am. I’m a positive, upbeat, energetic person. Always have a positive outlook on life, a positive outlook on everything we encounter. Like, everything is going to be better no matter how it looks. No matter how bad your situation may be in life, the sun is always coming up.

“That’s how I always view it, and I feel like guys want to be around people who are positive, bringing great energy to them. Everybody can tell them what they’re not doing right or how bad it is, how bad it looks, how bad it’s going to be. But that’s not my approach. My approach is continue to instill confidence in our guys and do it with positive, upbeat energy.”

Ryans has helped Houston win the division title in each of his past two seasons with the Texans. In 2011, Houston won the AFC South with Ryans as a team captain and the middle linebacker.

After that season, Ryans’ sixth in Houston, the Texans traded the linebacker to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he completed his 10-year NFL playing career.

Before the NFL, Ryans was an All-State linebacker at Jess Lanier High School in Bessemer in 2001. At Alabama, Ryans was an unanimous All-American, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and winner of the Lott IMPACT Trophy for the 2005 season as a senior at Alabama. He capped his college career as the Defensive MVP of the 2006 Cotton Bowl in Alabama’s 13-10 victory over Texas Tech.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.