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

COACHING STAFFBRIAN PARIANITIGHT ENDSSEVENTH SEASON WITH TEXANS/22ND NFL SEASONBrian Pariani is in his seventh seasonwith the Houston Texans as thetight ends coach. Pariani is responsiblefor one of the more utilized units in the Texans’ offensivescheme. Under Pariani’s guidance, Owen Danielshas established himself as one of the best tight endsin the NFL.The Texans relied on their tight ends in 2011 more thanany other year in franchise history. Pariani’s unit, whichincluded Daniels, Joel Dreessen, Garrett Graham andJames Casey, caught a combined 101 passes for 1,314yards and 10 touchdowns. The group also blocked forthe NFL’s second-ranked run game and set a franchiserecord 153.0 rushing yards per game. Daniels steppedup to lead the team with 54 receptions for 677 yards andthree touchdowns. Dreessen caught 28 passes for 353yards and a team-best and career-high six touchdowns.Casey set career highs with 18 receptions for 260 yardsand a touchdown.Houston’s tight end trio of Daniels, Dreessen and Caseycombined to make 82 receptions for 1,087 yards and sixtouchdowns in 2010, marking the most yards in a seasonby Texans tight ends in franchise history at the time.In addition to pass-receiving production, Houston’stight ends also blocked for NFL rushing champion ArianFoster’s 1,616 yards on the ground in 2010. It markedthe second time during Pariani’s tenure the Texans havehad a 1,000-yard rusher. Dreessen set career highs with36 receptions for 518 yards, a 14.4 average per catchand had four touchdown receptions. Daniels, who foughtthrough a residual hamstring injury suffered during rehabilitationfrom his 2009 knee injury, posted 38 receptionsfor 471 yards and two touchdowns. Casey had eight receptionsfor 98 yards.Daniels earned his fi rst Pro Bowl trip in 2008 while underPariani’s watch and was on pace for a second all-starnod in 2009 before his season was cut short by injury.Daniels caught 40 passes for 519 yards and fi ve touchdownsbefore going down with a season-ending kneeinjury in the eighth game of the year.Despite the loss of Daniels, the tight end position remaineda vital cog in the League’s top-ranked passingattack. Dreessen put together a career year, catching 26passes for 320 yards and a touchdown.In 2008, Daniels caught 70 passes for 862 yards, bothcareer highs, and two touchdowns. He ranked amongthe top fi ve AFC tight ends in receptions, receiving yards,fi rst downs (46), yards per catch (12.3) and yards pergame (53.9). In addition to Daniels’ stellar year, Dreessencaught 11 passes for 77 yards on the season.In 2007, Pariani’s tight ends had what was then thethird-most productive year in team history, combiningto catch 73 passes for 859 yards and six touchdowns.They were led by Daniels, who was sixth among NFLtight ends with 63 receptions for 768 yards and threetouchdowns. Nearly 70 percent of Daniels’ receptions(44-of-63) went for fi rst downs, which ranked fourth in theLeague among tight ends. Dreessen caught four passesfor 55 yards and the fi rst two touchdowns of his career.In his fi rst season with Houston, Pariani developed Daniels,a fourth-round draft choice, into the most productiverookie tight end in the NFL and a fi rst-team PFWA/PFWall-rookie selection. Daniels set the Texans rookie recordwith fi ve receiving touchdowns, which matched wide receiverAndre Johnson for the team lead. Daniels fi nishedhis fi rst year with 34 catches for 352 yards and fi ve touchdowns,all of which were fi rst among rookie tight ends.The move to Houston returned Pariani to the pro coachingranks after spending the 2005 season as the offensivecoordinator at Syracuse University. He spent 1995-04coaching tight ends with the Denver Broncos alongsideTexans head coach Gary Kubiak. Before his time with theBroncos, Pariani coached with the San Francisco 49ersfrom 1991-94. Pariani teamed with Kubiak to bring the49ers a Super Bowl championship in 1994.Having coached with the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIIand XXXIII and with the San Francisco 49ers in SuperBowl XXIX, Pariani is one of only eight coaches in theNFL to have won World Championships with teams fromboth conferences.While with the Broncos, Pariani coached ShannonSharpe, the second-leading receiving tight end in NFLhistory and 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.Sharpe led the NFL in receptions by a tight end from1996-98 averaging 73 catches over the three-year span.Sharpe totaled 425 receptions for 5,373 yards and 38touchdowns with Pariani. Sharpe retired in 2004, fi nishinghis career with eight Pro Bowl selections. He retiredas the NFL career record holder among tight ends with815 receptions, 10,060 yards and 62 touchdowns. OnOct. 20, 2002, Sharpe set an NFL record with 214 receivingyards by a tight end in a 37-34 overtime win atKansas City.From 1995-2004, Pariani’s tight ends combined for859 receptions and 9,948 receiving yards, the most inthe NFL during that 10-year period. In 2001, Pariani’sunit combined to catch 100 passes, sending tight endDwayne Carswell to his fi rst Pro Bowl.On the ground, Pariani’s group helped lead the way forDenver runners to rush for 22,483 yards, most in the NFLHOUSTONTEXANS.COM 43