Pep Hamilton’s new offensive scheme

You can read the full story here: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/texans/article/How-Davis-Mills-and-Pep-Hamilton-are-poised-to-17244863.php

But the excerpt is the pertinent stuff about what to expect from Pep’s scheme.

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Hamilton’s third playbook as an NFL play-caller will still reflect his philosophical roots in the West Coast offense, but he also has foreshadowed variations that will stem from his distinct experiences with Michigan’s diverse scheme as its de facto play-caller, exploiting up-tempo advantages as the XFL’s DC Defenders head coach, and tutoring Justin Herbert as the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach.

Hamilton said he’s made his offseason construction of Houston’s offense a collaborative process that includes the players involved. He treats his meetings as “dialogue sessions,” “open discussions” in which “quite a few” offensive players have made suggestions that tweak a scheme that can best feature their talents.

Danny Barrett, Houston’s running backs coach since 2018, is the coaching staff’s longest-tenured member. He has recognized a creativity in Hamilton, a willingness to be “aggressive” and try new things in both the run game and passing game.

“Pep’s really, really smart,” said newly hired offensive line coach George Warhop, whose NFL coaching career began in 1996 with the St. Louis Rams. “I’ve known him for a long time. But being away from him, you forget how really bright he is. He’s always pushing the edge. ‘We can do this.’ ‘Hey, what about this?’ ‘What about this?’ I think it’s fun because it keeps me on my toes, and it’s going to be a problem for defenses when we play them.”

Hamilton historically leans toward power-run schemes that support play-action deep shots. But no matter how many of those tendencies remain, Smith has made it clear there will be an emphasis on improving a 2021 run game that produced the second-fewest yards per carry (3.4) in franchise history.