Perry Carter is in his seventh season as a coach with the Texans and his third as assistant defensive backs coach.
Carter worked closely with defensive backs coach Vance Joseph in 2011 to help Houston’s secondary become one of the most improved units in the NFL. In 2011, Houston ranked third in pass defense, giving up 189.7 yards per game, after finishing 30th in 2010 with 267.5 yards per game. The Texans had the NFL’s lowest pass completion percentage allowed (51.9), ranked second with 6.17 yards per attempt allowed and had the second-lowest opponent passer rating at 69.0.
Perry Carter is in his seventh season as a coach with the Texans and his third as assistant defensive backs coach.
Carter worked closely with defensive backs coach Vance Joseph in 2011 to help Houston’s secondary become one of the most improved units in the NFL. In 2011, Houston ranked third in pass defense, giving up 189.7 yards per game, after finishing 30th in 2010 with 267.5 yards per game. The Texans had the NFL’s lowest pass completion percentage allowed (51.9), ranked second with 6.17 yards per attempt allowed and had the second-lowest opponent passer rating at 69.0.
Carter also worked with the defensive backs in his five previous seasons with the Texans, including his four seasons as a defensive assistant. He originally joined the Texans staff through the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship program during the 2006 training camp.
Carter’s coaching career began in 2004 as the secondary coach at Texas A&M-Commerce. He worked in private business in 2005, then returned to coaching with NFL Europa’s Hamburg Sea Devils as a defensive backs/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 Mississippi from 1990-94. Carter was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round (107th pick overall) of the 1994 NFL Draft, and played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1995 and the Oakland Raiders from 1996-98. Carter also played five seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos (2000-01), Montreal Alouettes (2002) and British Columbia Lions (2003-04).
Carter and his wife, Nicole, live in Houston with their daughter, Bría, and son, Perry Jr.
CARTER’S COACHING LEDGER
2010-12: Assistant defensive backs, Houston Texans
2006-09: Defensive assistant, Houston Texans
2006: Defensive backs/defensive assistant, Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europa)
2004: Secondary, Texas A&M-Commerce
