2012 HOUSTON TEXANS MEDIA GUIDE - Parent Directory - NFL.com

COACHING STAFFJOHN BENTONbacks averaged 1,579 rushing yards during Benton’stwo years as the line coach.Benton lettered at Colorado State from 1983-86 andearned honorable mention All-WAC accolades duringhis junior and senior seasons. He was a graduate assistantat Colorado State from 1987-90 before movingon to California University (Pa.), where he coached theoffensive line and also served as the recruiting coordinatoruntil 1994.Benton returned to his alma mater in 1996, where heserved as offensive line coach until 2000 and addedresponsibilities as the co-offensive coordinator from2000-03, sharing duties with current Texans offensiveassistant Dan Hammerschmidt from 2001-03.A Durango, Colo. native, he and his wife Nicole, havetwo daughters, Gabrielle and Paige. The family residesin Sugar Land.BENTON’S COACHING LEDGER2006-12: Offensive Line, Houston Texans2005: Offensive Line, St. Louis Rams2004: Assistant Offensive Line, St. Louis Rams2000-03: Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line,Colorado State1995-00: Offensive Line, Colorado State1990-94: Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator,California University (Pa.)1987-90: Graduate Assistant, Colorado StatePERRY CARTERASSISTANT DEFENSIVE BACKSSEVENTH SEASON WITH TEXANS/SEVENTH NFL SEASONPerry Carter is in his seventhseason as a coach with the Texansand his third as assistant defensivebacks coach.Carter worked closely with defensive backs coachVance Joseph in 2011 to help Houston’s secondarybecome one of the most improved units in the NFL. In2011, Houston ranked third in pass defense, giving up189.7 yards per game, after fi nishing 30th in 2010 with267.5 yards per game. The Texans had the NFL’s lowestpass completion percentage allowed (51.9), rankedsecond with 6.17 yards per attempt allowed and had thesecond-lowest opponent passer rating at 69.0.Carter also worked with the defensive backs in his fi veprevious seasons with the Texans, including his fourseasons as a defensive assistant. He originally joinedthe Texans staff through the NFL’s Minority CoachingFellowship program during the 2006 training camp.Carter’s coaching career began in 2004 as the secondarycoach at Texas A&M-Commerce. He workedin private business in 2005, then returned to coachingwith NFL Europa’s Hamburg Sea Devils as a defensivebacks/defensive assistant in the summer of 2006.Carter also worked with the special teams in Hamburg.The 40-year-old Carter, a native of McComb, Miss.,earned four letters playing cornerback at Southern Mississippifrom 1990-94. Carter was drafted by the ArizonaCardinals in the fourth round (107th pick overall)of the 1994 NFL Draft, and played for the Kansas CityChiefs in 1995 and the Oakland Raiders from 1996-98.Carter also played fi ve seasons in the Canadian FootballLeague with the Edmonton Eskimos (2000-01),Montreal Alouettes (2002) and British Columbia Lions(2003-04).Carter and his wife, Nicole, live in Houston with theirdaughter, Bría, and son, Perry Jr.CARTER’S COACHING LEDGER2010-12: Assistant defensive backs,Houston Texans2006-09: Defensive assistant, Houston Texans2006: Defensive backs/defensive assistant,Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europa)2004: Secondary, Texas A&M-Commerce34 2012 HOUSTON TEXANS MEDIA GUIDE