Former Texans OL coach defends Pro Bowl OT Laremy Tunsil on 'toxic culture' comments
Remember when the Houston Texans' offensive line room was considered "borderline toxic" in 2024 with Laremy Tunsil still manning the left tackle spot?
One former coach is defending the five-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman and his former room.
In an interview published by the Washington Post, former Texans offensive line coach Chris Strausser defended Tunsil's thoughts on how the offensive line wasn't the only issue toward a 10-7 finish and early divisional round loss for a second straight season.
Tunsil, who was traded to the Washington Commanders earlier this offseason, allowed three sacks last season. The rest of the offensive line made up the remaining 51 that were unaccounted for.
'I don't think our room was good last year,' Strausser told the Washington Post. 'It was a combination of a lot of things — by no means Laremy being the issue (or) the main issue. It was a combination of so many things — a lot of guys trying to figure out an offense that, honestly, we were not that well educated in. We did have different personalities in the room. Our chemistry just was not right. But it was not at all Laremy's fault that our chemistry was not right. It really wasn't."
Tunsil, who still has another season left on his current deal, admitted that the report was upsetting, even if it was simply a rumor from the outside.
'It did make me feel a way, because our room wasn't like that,' Tunsil said. 'Did we play well? No. Did C.J. (Stroud) get sacked a lot? Yes. I see where the rumors could be made up and come from. But I feel like we had a great-ass room.'
While the offensive line was putrid at best in 2024, Tunsil had been a staple of Houston's turnaround over his six seasons with the franchise. Acquired ahead of the 2019 season for a pair of first-round picks, the former first-round talent transformed into one of the league's best pass protectors, earning Pro Bowl honors in five of six seasons.
The main issue that led to Tunsil's departure? Penalties. Over his final two seasons, Tunsil was flagged over two dozen times, including 19 times last season with 12 false starts.
Strausser, who was fired with offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik after the season, partly blamed the enormous amount of false starts on Houston's frequent snap count change, thus throwing Tunsil out of a rhythm.
'He tried to get better at it,' Strausser said. 'We definitely did have a different cadence than what he was used to. I think he would say it was not that offensive-tackle-friendly. It took him a while both years to get used to it.'
Stausser, who isn't expected to coach this upcoming season, also made it clear that while rumors of "toxicity" might persist, they're simply rumors. Nothing more, nothing less.
"The guy's a great guy. The guy's a great player. I went in there. We were not very good for two years on the offensive line. I got fired, basically. I shouldn't have really good feelings. But I do have good feelings about Laremy. I feel very lucky I coached Laremy.'
The Commanders open the regular season at home against the New York Giants on Sept. 7. The Texans will travel to SoFi Stadium to take on the Los Angeles Rams that same afternoon.
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