Power Players: Texans OC Nick Caley

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1:17Hi, everybody. Welcome to another episode of NFL Daily's Power Players, where we talk to football people and learn from them and pull back the curtain on the sport we love just a little bit more. Today, I am so excited to be talking to Houston Texans offensive coordinator Nick Kaley. Kaley is a John Carroll graduate, part of that coaching and front office fraternity that now spreads all across the NFL. After spending his first decade of coaching as a defensive coach in the collegiate ranks, Kaylee moved on to a dynasty when he joined Bill Belichick's New England Patriots as an offensive assistant coach in 2015.

1:54He quickly moved up there, becoming the tight ends and fullbacks coach until leaving for the Los Angeles Rams tight ends coaching job in 2023. In L.A., where he also became the team's offensive pass game coordinator, Kaylee helped install the new version of Sean McVay's offense using some influential run pass concepts he helped perfect in New England. And the Rams were off and running. In 2024, Kaylee became the Texans offensive coordinator, joining a team that now has big time Super Bowl aspirations, including on this show, and a clear path of evolution and intention ahead of them, especially on offense.

2:31I can't wait for you to hear Kaylee's energy and thoughts about the game and coaching and everything else. Let's get into it. Welcome to NFL Daily's Power Players, where we go inside the NFL with people who shape the sport. I am stoked today to be welcoming Houston Texans offensive coordinator, Nick Kaley to the show. Nick, how are you? Thank you so much for being here today. Jordan, I'm doing great. Thank you for having me. How are you doing? I'm good. I think I'm in a little bit of a cooler, you know, not cooler like rad, but cooler as in temperature environment than you are right now. So I feel for you, man.

3:09There's no question about it. It's pretty steamy, pretty hot here. Yeah, so I'm excited to talk to you today because we've known each other for a while and I love the way that you think about football and I love the way that you think about the big picture and the little picture of football and how it's evolving forward and building puzzle pieces together and working with people especially. And I think that really shines through in every stop you've been in. But I really want to go back a little bit further. I mean, if you can put yourself back in like very, very young Nick Caley's shoes. And tell me about what sparked for you for football.

3:44Like what are some of the reasons that it really became your purpose and your why? Sure. Yeah, I mean, well, the first thing is I think we're all a product of our environments. I was born in Canton, Ohio, really roughly three miles from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So, you know, in the 80s, late 80s, early 90s, the population's declined a little bit, but high school football at the time, I mean, it wouldn't be uncommon to see 15 to 20 ,000 people at a high school game on a Friday or Saturday night. Longest ongoing high school rivalry in the country, Maslin-McKinley. So that's been going on for well over 100 games, easily 100 games.

4:22So as a kid, I got an opportunity. Fortunately, my dad loved ball and would take me to high school games as an early kid, five, six, seven years old. Got an opportunity to just be around those players, those coaches. those environments, and really caught fire. And then mix that with the fact that the Pro Football Hall of Fame is there. That's the time of the year where you just see Canton shine. And it's a great place. It's part of the fabric of the culture. It embodies hard work. You know, it's a passion-filled game. And, you know, I would say most of the guys that I grew up with when we were kids, that's what we did.

5:01We played football on the streets. We went to the Hall of Fame Day parade. I used to be on my dad's shoulders and take me down to the Hall of Fame and shriving ceremonies when they used to be on the front steps there of the Hall of Fame. So that's where that's where I got the first taste. And it hit me and it really just continued to, you know, fuel that fire in me, you know, to this day. I think a lot of us are really shaped by like the see it, be it quality, right? Like you see people coaching. You were up close to those high school games. And yeah, you're looking at the players at the time and you're thinking, I want to be just like them.

5:33and eventually your path shapes into understanding the game and really feeling passionate and fueled by all that goes into it to help those players succeed. When did that sort of start to switch for you that like, okay, these guys are in Canton and they're being enshrined as players, but there's coaches here too. There are so many people behind maybe the headsets that help shape the sport just as well. I want to be like them. Yeah. I mean, probably around the age of seven, eight, nine years of age, to be honest with you. Um, I, I had my, you know, a lot of my family members went to Canton McKinley high school.

6:16Um, ironically, that's where Josh McDaniels played. I had an opportunity to work with Josh for seven years in, in new England, but, um, his father is a hall of fame high school coach. And I just, I can still remember going to the Massillon McKinley games. You know, I had two cousins. There were multiple cousins that played at Camp McKinley, my mom's first cousins. One played in the National Football League, John Grimsley, for 10 years, seven of which here in Houston, if I'm not mistaken. At least I think it was seven years. But played 10 years in the NFL. So I remember going to McKinley games.

6:46I could hear the crushed cinder on the sidelines with the cleats hitting. You could smell the popcorn, you know, in the air. And those were times where you looked up. The high school coaches, they were so respected in my community. And then as a kid, when you're playing football for the first time, first time we could play tackle football, I was in the fifth grade. And you just had opportunities to go out there and get coached. And you had people that poured belief into you. And it was fun. Like, you enjoyed it. It was, you know, they were intense. They were competitive. And, you know, it was just, it was what I loved.

7:22I caught, you know, I caught fire. And then coupled with that, when I was nine years old, there was a NAIA school at the time, Malone College. It's still there. I believe Ashton Doolin graduated from there. But they were an NAIA school and Joe Palomazano was their head coach. And at nine years of age, I got to be a ball boy and I got to see every interaction. It was at Fawcett Stadium, now Benson Stadium there. We're at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Tom Benson Stadium. Prior to that, it was Fawcett. And I got to sit there and have a ringside seat every single day. my dad would drop me off I'd walk into the stadium I'd sit there for the home games then he'd come pick me up and I'd go home and um you know you would have thought that was a Super Bowl there may have been a thousand people in the stands but it didn't matter and so I got to see the impact that coaches had on players I got to see the camaraderie I got to see the collaboration um firsthand and it was at the age of nine that I I knew you know look we all had dreams to to one day hopefully be an NFL player I knew pretty pretty you know I had 135 pounds in high school I knew that probably wasn't going to be my calling card, but I did know that ultimately at some point I wanted to coach football.

8:28That was important to me. It's cool because I mean, for me, that's English teachers, right? Like you, you have people who pour belief into you. And obviously I'm on the, you know, the writing side for the most part, I'm podcasting right now, but then, and like, you remember those people who, who made you feel like I can do this and you want to be one of those people for people. I think that's football is such a powerful cycle. It can be, it can be a dangerous and negative cycle. Sure. But it also in terms of people, um, perpetuating those types of qualities to others, and then those people carrying them forward.

9:03That's one of the things that I love the most about the sport. And then the perpetuation of ideas comes in that too. And then like you hit the real stuff as you did, I know early in your career where you're like, this is hard. This is, this is a grind. I am in the, you know what right now. And I'm wondering what those moments were like to like keeping that like real passion for it, even though you are in some grueling environments, especially, you know, as you end, you leave your twenties, you're in your thirties in, in new England, you're in some real, real trenches with those guys. Yeah. It, um, it was, it was a laboratory for learning.

9:43I mean, for sure. And some days you're drinking out of a fire hose. I'll never forget. So I was on the defensive side of the ball as a graduate assistant all the way through, through becoming a, you know, a full-time coach, a position coach at the college level prior to going to the Patriots, prior to getting an opportunity to get hired by coach Belichick and the Patriots. And I'll never forget. I interview in 20 it was spring of 2015. I was out recruiting and I got a call to see, you know, if I would want to come up and interview for a possible quality control job. They called it coaching assistant at the time, and I said, absolutely.

10:18So long story short, I get an opportunity to go up there. I interview, installing quarters coverage, defensive back-centric, going through really a car wash of an interview from 7.30, 7.45 a.m. to roughly about 4.30 p.m. when my flight was scheduled to leave. They fly me back to St. Petersburg, Florida, because I was out with spring recruiting. And when I came back, they called the next day to offer me the job, and I flew up. It was a pretty quick turnaround. When I got there, one of the first stops I made, they brought me to Coach Belichick's office, and he said, you know, I'm going to put you about as far out of your comfort zone as possible, and we're going to put you with the offensive line.

10:55Dave DeGuglielmo was the offensive line coach in 2015 for us there in New England. He said, it's going to be, it'll put you as far out of your comfort zone, but it's going to be the best thing that will happen to you professionally. And he was right. I remember that first spring I got hired really the weekend of rookie minicamp in 2015 so I was already I wasn't there for phase one of the offseason program and when we got going I just remember actually Jerry Szaplinski our quarterback coach here I took his role they moved me to offense I took his role he got elevated to assistant quarterbacks coach and a couple weeks in he takes a four-inch binder and he sets it and drops it right on my desk and he goes here you go man I'm giving you one day this summer where I'll answer any questions you have, but go figure it out.

11:39That's what everybody else had to do here. So you're really I'm breaking down film. I'm trying to be, you know, learn how what our language is, what our vernacular is, how we call things. In addition to trying to find my way through the building and what our rhythm and routine is that first spring. And I'll never forget. I'm sitting there going, man, I know we used to call this 26 power from a defensive perspective. Like, why is this called Jab 28 Power Boss? Why is this called Jab 26 Sub? Why is this called, you know, Jab 28 Power? We had all these different variations of power. And then, but, and it would take, it took an inordinate amount of time to break down film that the first couple tries.

12:19I mean, really the first month in the summer that I got there, because it's not about identifying what's actually on the table, it's putting it into their language. and so you felt like you were drinking out of a fire hose every day and then you know the only thing i'd say is you just keep drinking you keep swallowing the water and you keep going and and and then you had great people there to lean on uh josh mcdaniels dante skarnecchia um the list the brian dable there there were just so many good people ivan fears i mean i mean i i'm gonna leave people out because there's so many of them but it was a lot at first and all you can do is is really roll up your sleeves and go to work.

12:57And that's what I tried to do every single day. And, um, you know, and there was a lot of growth in those moments, a lot of hard work, a lot of tough time, but it was, but it was a lot of growth. I love that. And, um, it's interesting to me because when you talk about, I mean, it's such a vivid memory for you. It's almost like when you are talking about this, I can hear you setting the binder on the table in front of you and flipping it open and being like, Oh my God. And so I, I like to think that when we have such transformational experiences like that early in our careers, the really good coaches, the really good communicators, you know, take that forward and remember that always when you're maybe uploading something to your new players or your young players.

13:37We're going to talk about the present and the future later on in this conversation, but I do want to know, is that something you still think, okay, I remember what this was like, and now this is how I'm going to try to help be and be really empathetic to people who are maybe learning this language and this installation for the first time? 100%. I think you have a great appreciation for that and you have a great appreciation for the process. And I think the thing that was always stated to me, and I've stated it to numerous people, there's people that Cole Popovich came after me. He's our offensive line coach, Carmen Brasillo, the offensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans, one of my best friends in life.

14:16He came after Cole. So we had a run of guys there. and what we always tried to do was help each other out along the way and and you know you never lose perspective of that and as hard as it is it's it gives you a foundation where there was no shortcuts you had to earn everything there you had to be a forward thinker about things and solve problems and try to figure it out and that was by design to see if you were willing to do the work and if you were able to, to, to figure out, you know, the solutions and as hard as it felt on the front end, it made you better every step of the way. And I wouldn't, I wouldn't change anything.

14:57And, you know, I will never ask anybody to do anything that wasn't asked of me, because there's a lot of gold and there's a lot of value. And there's, there's, you know, a lot of growth that comes from those experiences for sure. Yeah. You touched on something I'm super curious about because it's all, if you look back on your life, Nick Cayley, this is your life, You know, like, and you think about all of these moments that kind of were all leading to where you are now. And as an offensive coordinator, you have to be so good at walking that line between the macro and the micro. Right. And all of the little, little tiny details and all the little communications while continuing to keep that focus and also sort of supplement and really be that focus for other people.

15:42If maybe they're very in the weeds in certain roles and things like that. So how did those experiences and how did you personally maybe develop that skill set over time? I am sure it is still something you are always working on. Yeah, I would say, yeah, definitely. You know, I think the biggest thing is I think everything just starts with in terms of relating to the people that you work with and interact with. I think it's about really understanding who you're working with and understanding the value of having people around you and supporting people. and as a coordinator like you know i can't do this job alone um and i i i value everybody that we have on our staff um everybody has an important role and you make that role you make of it whatever you want to make of it you know and and i truly believe that the more you can do the more things expand for you in terms of being able to take on responsibility and all of all of the guys we have here on our staff um i i have so much appreciation and respect for and it's just no differently than And as a position coach, you know, my job as a position coach was to support the offensive coordinator, the head coach in any way that I possibly could to help help us be at our best.

16:52And I just try to keep that into perspective, try to try to lead with humility and hunger. And really, you know, I learn a lot from our coaches. We pour into each other. And it's a you know, I value that. I value collaboration, you know, when we're sitting there trying to solve problems. And I don't ever want people to feel like they are apprehensive to ask questions, you know, and speak in me. Like, I want a psychological safety that permeates through our staff because I think that, you know, that's how you solve problems. That's a, you know, not one person has all the answers. And you can conquer a lot more with a team.

17:32And, you know, we tell our players that it's the same thing with coaches. And so I think being rooted in that, having a level of humility and just trying to take a step back collectively as a staff and doing everything we can to help one another so that we can help our players and we can help this team and organization. Man, I'm going to write that down. Psychological safety is, you know, I love, you know me, I like words, right? So I really, that seems to me like one of your core values, the way that you present it like that, and maybe a teaching mantra or a philosophical mantra that you try to live by.

18:08any others that maybe developed for you over time, things that you live by with communication, things that you learned over time in your career that you really, really try to stay steadfast in? Yeah. I mean, a couple of things. I think one thing is the three things that were told to me a while back were, if you can do these things, if you can work hard, you can treat people right, and you can tell the truth and be transparent in your messaging, you know, it'll go a long way. So everything that I try to do far from clearly far from perfect, made plenty of mistakes in my life, you know, but I try to do things the right way and just give everything your best.

18:49And, you know, Sean used to say it all the time in L.A. and he was he's awesome for every reason. But no one likes surprises. So trying to be out in front of things, being transparent in community, from a communication standpoint, you know, from just the intent of what you're trying to get accomplished, just be authentic and genuine and be yourself and treat people the right way and pour everything you have into it. And it's amazing what you can accomplish when you get, when you do that. And then collectively, when you have a staff do that and same thing with our players. So I believe that I live by that.

19:30I believe in that. And that's important to me. and then just continue to just try to help everybody be at their best. And I think those, you know, I would say those three things really, working hard, treating people right and telling the truth, they take you a long way. Yeah, I'd agree with that 100%. You mentioned Sean McVay. I met you when you first came to Los Angeles. What was the moment for you where you said, Toto, we are not in New England anymore?

20:04right when I got there. I mean, you know, I'll go back when I first talked to Sean the first time. There was just this unmatched energy, as everybody knows, but like you could sense this passion, this fire, this relatability, high emotional intelligence, elite emotional intelligence. No question. He's he's an elite football mind, but you could sense it even on the phone. The first conversation I ever had with them, it was just different. And then once I went there and I walked through the door, the door over in Kowloon and you remember the door in quotations. Yeah. Yeah. But on the wall, it said joy in the journey.

20:49And that's all I really had to see because from a, from a personality standpoint, a vibe standpoint, it really felt like home, um, from the time that I got there. And it was an unbelievable, he runs the energy in that building, the way that we go about our day, the way you move throughout the building. It's high level football. It's great people that are all motivated as coaches and players. And you saw just an incredible synergy between coaches and coaches, players and players, coach to player relationship front office um you know kevin less tony obviously integrating with and you saw people just work work their asses off to support one another all with the same common goal and no egos and you knew pretty right away you knew um and and those it was unbelievable it was unbelievable I think that those Belichick staffs that you were on were obviously so I mean talk about 300, 400, 500, 600 level coaching and coursework in how to do the job do your job essentially but also did you ever think that something could be both that it could feel both like you were working maybe harder than you ever worked in your life but also you were joyful while doing it.

22:27I'm not saying you weren't when you were in New England. I know that was a bond that will always be shared by those staffs and those coaches, but, but just the, I always felt I moved out, I moved out to LA to cover the Rams and in 2020 and I just felt like my brain just kept opening up and just kept, just kept going almost. Like there was this space, this space in football that I had not even ever considered. and it was just like feeling like you're opening these doors everywhere you go and like thinking about things differently when you get there. I'm wondering if it was similar for you. Yeah, I would say what I realized is, um, you know, when, when I was younger, even, even going back to my college experience, right.

23:10I've had a fantastic opportunity to work for some unbelievable people every step of the way. I really have. Um, and I'm, I'm indebted and grateful for all those experiences. When I went to Los Angeles, I was a little bit older. We had a third daughter on the way. She hadn't arrived yet, Quinn. She's definitely an LA girl. Three years old, just turned three, not too long ago. But what I realized was balance is good. Balance is healthy. And I don't know that I had a whole lot of balance. And that's not derived at New England. We caught fire. You catch fire in a bottle and you put the blinders on and you go.

23:57And there was a lot of growth. But I felt when I really reflect and when I was in the moment there, being present, totally present when I was in L.A. with Sean, and I try to carry it over today every step of the way, that when I was able to recharge and Sean does a phenomenal job, just like D 'Amico does here from a schedule standpoint, especially in the offseason. Of giving you time to take your daughters to school, you know, having smiles on your face in the workplace, enjoying, keeping it light, but also continuing to be urgent in terms of, you know, the work we needed to get done because we worked hard in L.A.

24:35We worked really hard in L.A. But there was a balance and there was laughter and there was joy. And then the time you got to stay away and get away and go home, it made you help. Above the neck for me, I was at my best because I was completely, my tank was full every single day. And, you know, I believe that. I'm convicted in that, that that's part of it. And there's a lot of stresses in our life. This is a hard job. Players, I mean, players, physically for sure, and all the stress that they have, but for coaches too. And, you know, it's when you can be joyful, when you can be in those moments where you're, you know, you enjoy driving in down the 101 in the morning, you know, and the sun hasn't come up and you're excited to go to work.

25:28I mean, that's what you want. And that's what it was there. That's what it was. Yeah, clearly your drive down the one-on-one was before everybody else woke up for the day. Otherwise, you'd be sitting in gridlock. That's true. You hit it a little bit on Fridays after practice. Yeah, you'd hate your life and everyone around you at that point. It's cool because we love the Houston Texans on this show. We talk about them all the time. They are big-time Super Bowl favorites for us. I'm not trying to do the thing where you talk to the pitcher who's throwing heat about aspirations or goals or whatever.

26:09So we're not going to do that. But we we love that this team on the show. And what I have always posited, especially in this sort of this new era, D 'Amico coming over, is that this is a team that's trying to do that. That's trying to walk that line between this really, really modern and progressive workplace style of thinking, of collaboration, of communication, of building the coaching team and the front office team just as intentionally as you would build the team on the field and doing so at a high level there too. But then also bringing still those old school punch you in the mouth, I'm going to outwork you like kind of qualities as well.

26:52It's possible to do. And that's my my theory about Houston. And I think where you come in on this is living in both of those worlds and sort of maybe walking that line the way you have in your career. And it also means you've been around, you're carrying in the experience of the people you work with, including the quarterbacks. And when I think about CJ Stroud, I think about his potential, which, oh my gosh, we are so high on here. It's just, he feels like he's that type of quarterback, that high cerebral, role, but also will gut through and like get stuff done too. What, I mean, you've been around some really, really great quarterbacks, veterans mostly in, in your career.

27:32And I'm curious, like meeting him, getting into his, you know, into his mind, collaborating with him, being on this development track as he's still so young, what's that been like for you? What have you sort of called back to, or maybe carried forward? It's been great. I mean, it's been a lot of fun. I would say the The biggest thing too, I mean, over the course of the last year, the more time on task we've had to get to be, you know, around each other and continue to work, you know, with each other, just gotten to, it starts with just the relationship piece of it. And him and I have a great relationship.