The Texans head west for their final road game of 2021 and their next-to-last contest of the season. The San Francisco 49ers await and kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
The opponent is stocked with former players and coaches who spent time here, and the Texans have a few 49ers ties as well.
Courtesy of the Texans media relations team, here are some of the more notable connections between the Week 17 opponents.
- Texans WR Brandin Cooks was born and raised in Stockton, CA, which is 80 miles east of San Francisco.
- 49ers DL Charles Omenihu was drafted by the Texans in 2019, played for Houston through the middle of this season before being dealt to the NFC West squad on November 2.
- Texans CB Terrance Mitchell was born and raised 85 miles northeast of San Francisco in Sacramento.
- Texans QB Davis Mill and Texans DB Justin Reid both played in college at Stanford, which is about 40 miles south of San Francisco.
- Texans WR Jordan Veazy played college football for Cal, which is across the bay from San Francisco.
- 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan was the Texans Quarterbacks Coach in 2007 and the team's offensive coordinator in 2008 and 2009.
- Texans Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Pep Hamilton was the 49ers Quarterbacks Coach in 2006.
- 49ers Defensive Coordinator DeMeco Ryans is one of the greatest players in Texans history. Picked out of Alabama in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft, Ryans went on to captain the Houston defense at linebacker for the next six seasons.
- Texans Safeties Coach Greg Jackson was a 49ers Assistant Secondary Coach from 2011 through 2014.
- 49ers Offensive Coordinator Mike McDaniel was a Texans Offensive Assistant with the Texans from 2006 through 2008.
- 49ers Special Teams Coordinator Richard Hightower is a Houston native and played high school football at Aldine MacArthur. He was also a Texans Coaching Assistant in 2006 and 2007 and an Assistant Special Teams Coach in 2008.
- 49ers Linebackers Coach Johnny Holland was born in Bellville, TX and played at Hempstead High School. He starred collegiately as a linebacker at Texas A&M. Holland coached Ryans and the Texans Linebackers from 2006 through 2010.
- 49ers Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker was a Texans Assistant Wide Receivers Coach in 2017 and 2018. In 2007 while he was a wide receiver with the Patriots, Texans General Manager Nick Caserio was his position coach.
- 49ers Defensive Quality Control Assistant Klay Kubiak was the Head Coach at Houston's Strake Jesuit College Preparatory from 2018 through 2020. His father Gary was the Texans Head Coach from 2006 through 2013.
