Coaches | Houston Texans - HoustonTexans.com

Danny Barrett enters his sixth season as running backs coach for the Houston Texans in 2023. Barrett owns 40 years of experience spanning the NFL, the Canadian Football League and collegiate ranks, including 27 seasons as a coach.

Danny Barrett enters his sixth season as running backs coach for the Houston Texans in 2023. Barrett owns 40 years of experience spanning the NFL, the Canadian Football League and collegiate ranks, including 27 seasons as a coach.

In 2022, Barrett played a major role in helping RB Dameon Pierce to a historic rookie season, carrying the ball 220 times for 939 yards (4.3 avg.) and four touchdowns while also adding 30 receptions and 165 yards to his resume. His 1,104 scrimmage yards and 939 rushing yards ranked as the third-most by a rookie in franchise history. Across the league, Pierce averaged 72.2 rushing yards per game, which ranked eighth in the NFL and first among all rookie running backs. To add, Pierce also paced the rookie class in scrimmage yards per game (84.9), yards after contact per game (38.9), broken tackles (35) and elusive rating (98.5), which is graded on Pro Football Focus. Pierce rushed for over 130 yards twice during his rookie campaign, once against the Los Angeles Chargers (131) and the other against NFC Champions Philadelphia Eagles (139). In his game against the Chargers, Pierce snapped off a 75-yard touchdown run, marking the third-longest run in franchise history and the longest since RB Justin Forsett in 2012 (81).

In 2021, Barrett tutored RB Rex Burkhead, who posted a career-high 613 all-purpose yards (427 rushing yards and 186 receiving yards) along with three touchdowns in his first season as a Texan. Burkhead led the Texans with a career-high 149 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries (6.8 avg.) in a Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

After acquiring RB David Johnson in the 2020 offseason, Barrett helped Johnson to a bounce-back season despite only appearing in 12 games on the season. Johnson eclipsed 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the fourth time in his career by rushing 147 times for 691 yards (4.7 avg.) and recording 33 receptions for 314 yards (9.5 avg.). He also tallied eight touchdowns on the season (6 rushing, 2 receiving).

When veteran RB Lamar Miller was injured late in the 2019 preseason, Houston acquired RB Carlos Hyde in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs just nine days before the season opener. Under Barrett's tutelage, Hyde went on to have the most productive season of his career, posting 1,070 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 245 carries (4.4 avg.). His 1,000-yard season was the first of his career and made him the fifth Texans player to accomplish the feat in franchise history. RB Duke Johnson, who was also acquired in a preseason trade, complemented Hyde as a versatile backfield weapon, catching and running for 410 yards each and scoring five total touchdowns. The tandem of Hyde and Johnson carried a Texans team that went 10-6 on the season en route to a second-consecutive AFC South crown and defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round.

In Barrett's first season with Houston in 2018, the Texans averaged 126.3 rushing yards per game, which ranked fourth in the AFC and eighth in the NFL. Houston recorded the fifth-most rushing yards in a season in team history (2,021) and recorded at least 150 rushing yards in four games, which tied for the fourth-most games with at least 150 rushing yards in a season in team history. Houston captured an AFC South title with an 11-5 record, which marked the second-most wins in a season in franchise history and the first season with double-digit wins since 2012. Houston became the first team to start 0-3 and win a division title since 1992, after winning a franchise-record nine consecutive games in Weeks 4-13.

RB Lamar Miller (973), QB Deshaun Watson (551) and RB Alfred Blue (499) each recorded more than 450 rushing yards, marking the first time in team history where three players each had at least 450 rushing yards in the same season. The Texans were also the only team in the NFL to accomplish the feat in 2018. In Houston's 34-17 victory vs. Tennessee in Week 12, the Texans ran for the most rushing yards in a game in franchise history (281) and recorded the highest rushing average in a game in team history (8.3 yards per carry).

Miller was selected to his first Pro Bowl, finishing the year with 973 rushing yards on 210 carries (4.6 avg.) and 25 receptions for 163 yards (6.5 avg.) in 14 games (14 starts). He scored five rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown while compiling 1,136 total scrimmage yards. In Week 12 vs. Tennessee, Miller ran for 162 rushing yards on 12 carries (13.5 avg.) and scored on a 97-yard run in the second quarter, which marked the longest run in franchise history. Miller also rushed for 100-or-more yards in four games in 2018, which tied his single-season career high and tied for sixth-most in the NFL.

Barrett joined the Texans after two seasons (2016-17) as the running backs coach for the Miami Dolphins. Under Barrett's tutelage, RB Kenyan Drake paced the Miami backfield with 644 rushing yards and three touchdowns in 2017, boasting a 4.8 yards per carry average, which ranked as the sixth-best in the league.

In his first season with the Dolphins in 2016, Barrett helped RB Jay Ajayi produce the biggest turnaround by any NFL running back from the 2015 season en route to Pro Bowl honors. Ajayi rushed for 1,272 yards in 2016, the third-most in a single season in Dolphins history and 1,085 more than the year prior, which was the biggest improvement by any NFL running back. Ajayi became one of just four NFL players ever to post three 200-yard games in the same season and holds three of the team's top six all-time single-game rushing marks. Ajayi also became just the fourth NFL player to rush for 200 yards in back-to-back games after he did so in Week 6 vs. Pittsburgh and Week 7 vs. Buffalo.

Prior to joining the NFL coaching ranks, Barrett spent five seasons (2011-15) at Central Florida, coaching the running backs from 2011-14, then coaching the quarterbacks and serving as the Knights interim head coach for the final four games in 2015.

In 2014, Barrett coached RB William Stanback to earn first-team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) honors and helped UCF win the AAC for a second-consecutive season. Barrett mentored two All-AAC backs in 2013, as RB Storm Johnson rushed for 1,139 yards with 14 touchdowns to claim first-team all-conference honors and Stanback earned second-team honors after posting 443 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Johnson's performance was only the eighth time in school history a running back topped 1,000 yards on the ground in a single season. Johnson was selected in the seventh round (222nd overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2014 NFL Draft.

The 2013 Knights won a school-record 12 games and went a perfect 8-0 in AAC play, winning the Fiesta Bowl for their first BCS bowl victory in program history. Barrett's bell-cow in 2012 was RB Latavius Murray, who earned All-Conference USA first-team honors with 1,106 rushing yards. Murray was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round (181st overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft and earned Pro Football Writers Association All-AFC honors in 2015 after he rushed for 1,066 yards. In Barrett's first season at UCF in 2011, the Knights rushed for 168.9 yards per game, the third-highest mark since the school joined the FBS in 1996.

Barrett spent the 2010 season as the quarterbacks coach at Bethune-Cookman, helping the Wildcats to a 10-2 record, a share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and a berth in the FCS playoffs.

In his first collegiate role as the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at the University at Buffalo from 2007-09, Barrett helped QB Drew Willy set several school records. Willy and Barrett worked together for two seasons and Willy left the program with school records for completions (849), attempts (1,322), passing yards (8,748), passing touchdowns (52), total offense (8,639) and completion percentage (64.2). During the final 20 games of his college career, Willy threw for 36 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Barrett also helped guide the Bulls to their first MAC championship in 2008 and the school's first bowl appearance, the International Bowl.

Barrett was the head coach and assistant general manager of the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders for seven seasons (2000-06). During his tenure, Barrett's teams advanced to the playoffs five consecutive times (2002-06) and reached the West Division final on three occasions.

Barrett began his coaching career in the CFL, serving as the Calgary Stampeders quarterbacks coach in 1997, where he served as the position coach for Stampeders QB Jeff Garcia, who went on to earn four Pro Bowl berths with the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Barrett then joined the BC Lions as the assistant offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 1998 and coached wide receivers for the Lions in 1999.

Barrett played quarterback for 14 years in the CFL, totaling 23,419 career passing yards for Calgary, the Toronto Argonauts, the BC Mascots and the Ottawa Rough Riders. He quarterbacked on two teams that played in the Grey Cup finals in 1987 (Toronto) and 1991 (Calgary).

A native of Boynton Beach, Fla., Barrett earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati, where he earned honorable mention All-America honors at quarterback.

COACHING CAREER

2018-23              Running Backs                                                            Houston Texans

2016-17              Running Backs                                                              Miami Dolphins

2015                    Interim Head Coach/Quarterbacks                          Central Florida

2011-14              Running Backs                                                             Central Florida

2010                    Quarterbacks                                                                 Bethune-Cookman

2007-09              Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks                       University of Buffalo

2000-06              Head Coach                                                                  Saskatchewan Roughriders

1999                   Wide Receivers                                                             BC Lions

1998                    Assistant Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks    BC Lions

1997                    Quarterbacks                                                                 Calgary Stampeders