The accolades flowed for Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr.’s college coach when he retired earlier this month. But Anderson said his NFL coach, DeMeco Ryans, doesn’t have to take a backseat to anybody – not even Nick Saban.

Anderson joined the Texans from Alabama as the third pick in the 2023 NFL Draft for Ryans’ first season as a head coach. Anderson said the coach “overly exceeded” his expectations.

“I don’t rank all the head coaches I’ve ever had,” Anderson said on Monday, “but, man, he’s so up there. I tell you, bro, like, he might be No. 1, bro, over coach Saban, dog. He’s just a great dude. He’s a really great dude.

“And I tell people all the time, they say, ‘How’s coach Ryans?’ and I say, ‘Honestly, bro, I view him as a coach, but I also view him as a player.’ In fact, I view him still as, like, he’s just a captain on the team sometimes because that’s the way he approaches us. Like he approaches us like he still is playing the game. That’s why it’s so easy for all of us to comprehend and understand how he operates and what he wants to get done because he commands that type of excellence and expectation and standard with everybody throughout the whole organization. And he can coach you. He’s been in the league. He knows, and he knows how to coach.

“And I also think another thing I respect about him is the way he cares about his players, the way he loves his players. He wants it so bad, he just gives all that love and energy into his players, and I know it makes us want to keep playing for him.”

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An All-American at Alabama, Ryans was a captain for the Texans during his 10-season career as an NFL linebacker. He returned as head coach to a team that won three games in 2022 and led Houston to 10 victories, the AFC South title and a 45-14 win over the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the playoffs.

“I’m very encouraged,” Anderson said, “and it’s crazy because me and (linebacker) Christian (Harris) were just talking, and he’s like, ‘Bro, I don’t think people understand how much better we’re going to be next year.’”

The Texans’ season ended in a 34-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.

“I was crying after the game, and (quarterback C.J. Stroud) wasn’t crying,” Anderson said. “He came and said, ‘You good. We good. We straight. We going to be good next year.’ And I’m like, ‘My bad. Cap said we going to be good next year.’ I dried my tears up and just looked at it from his perspective that he gave me after we talked. And he just was like, ‘Bro, just think about how much we’ve come from, how much better we’re going to be next year. We’re headed in the right direction.’”

Stroud joined Houston in the draft one pick ahead of Anderson and passed for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions in 15 regular-season games, then had 449 passing yards with three TDs and no interceptions in two postseason games.

“Came in as a rookie, changed the whole trajectory of this team,” Anderson said. “Leader, captain as a rookie, passing yards, all these records he set, the man he is, the player he is, the type of teammate he is, it just speaks volumes to him and his family. I know he’s strong in his faith.

“But when you watch C.J. play, you don’t see a rookie on the field. When you see C.J. walk through the building, you don’t see a rookie. When you see him interacting with people, you don’t see a rookie. You see a guy who comes to work every day, who’s about his business and just wants to make others around him better.”

Although he dealt with injuries late in the season, Anderson recorded seven sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 22 quarterback hits in his first NFL season. J.J. Watt, the greatest pass-rusher in Houston history, had 5.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback hits as a rookie. In his second season, Watt led the NFL with 20.5 sacks and 39 tackles for loss.

“I’m very encouraged,” Anderson said. “It’s awesome just to see the growth so far and everything like that. But for me, it’s just staying focused and staying the course and running my own race. Can’t get caught up in what everybody else did and just running Will Anderson’s race.”

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