The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. They currently belong to the Southern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Texans joined the NFL as a 2002 expansion team. The city's previous franchise, the Houston Oilers, moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1997 and changed their name to the Tennessee Titans.

After the 1995 Cleveland Browns relocation controversy, and the establishment of both the Baltimore Ravens and a newly reactivated Browns club, the NFL sought another expansion team to give the league an even number of 32 clubs. The NFL's newest team was originally destined for Los Angeles, as the league desired a franchise in the United States's second-largest media market (having lost both the Rams and the Raiders to relocation).

The NFL was initially dealing exclusively with Los Angeles-based groups in awarding its newest franchise. Possibly due to overconfidence, Los Angeles seemed to be indifferent with the prospect of being awarded an NFL franchise. No real progress seemed to be made toward securing a suitable stadium (both the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl are aging facilities).

Seeing this, Houston (which itself lost the Oilers to relocation) took a highly aggressive approach toward gaining the franchise for itself, marketing its size (Houston is the tenth-largest media market in the United States) and the fact that it too had lost a franchise to relocation. Having learned from the loss of the Oilers that an aging stadium (the Astrodome) would not sway the NFL, Houston put together a package which included a new stadium. Houston's aggressiveness (and LA's slothfulness) paid off, and thus the Houston Texans were born.

The Texans made NFL history by becoming the first expansion team to win consecutive season openers: first in 2002, defeating its established NFC in-state rival Dallas Cowboys in its first regular season game by a score of 19-10; then in 2003, beating the Miami Dolphins 21-20. In 2004, the Texans were the host team for Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Until 2005, the team had steadily improved with each successive season with a record of 4-12 in its first season, 5-11 in 2003, and 7-9 in 2004. In 2004, they cleared some major hurdles and won two consecutives games twice in that season after failing to do so in either 2002 or 2003. The team could have won three in a row to end the season, but they were stymied by the Cleveland Browns. During one notable series in 2004, the Texans won several competitions against the Tennessee Titans (the previous Houston franchise) and the Jacksonville Jaguars. As of 2005, they have not yet won a game against the Indianapolis Colts (a bellwether of the AFC South division). Texans fans were pleased with the progress made up to this point, even though they booed the team for its dreadful performance in the aforementioned Browns game that ended the 2004 season.

In 2005, there were expectations for a .500 season or even a playoff berth. However, the team got off to a slow start and with the offense not playing well, offensive coordinator Chris Palmer was fired and replaced by Joe Pendry. This marked the first major shakeup of the Texans' coaching staff in franchise history. In the 2005 NFL Draft the Texans drafted seven players but only one offensive lineman, long considered the team's weakest area. In December 2005, the (at the time) 1-12 Texans hired former Broncos, Giants, and Falcons coach Dan Reeves as a "consultant". With their loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the last game of the season, called by many the Bush Bowl, the Toilet Bowl or the Stupor Bowl, the Texans ended their season with a 2-14 record, the worst record in the NFL in the 2005 season (a record some have laid blame on the Texans' front office or a certain curse), and earned the right to the first selection in the 2006 NFL Draft. As of January 2006, many sports commentators expect that Reggie Bush, the Heisman Trophy winning running back from the University of Southern California, will be the top pick in the draft (though rumors persist that Vince Young, a Houston native, may be chosen).

On January 2, 2006, head coach Dom Capers was fired by owner Bob McNair. General Manager Charley Casserly, rumored to also be a target for firing, will remain with the team. Dan Reeves will continue in his consultant role as the team searches for a new coach and prepares for the 2006 NFL draft. On January 22, 2006, Bob McNair announced that Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak would become the Texans' second head coach.

As of the 2005 NFL season, Houston is the only NFL team with 3 distinctions: they have yet to post a winning season, they have yet to play in a regular-season Monday Night Football game, and have yet to make their first playoff appearance. The Texans are also one of three franchises, along with New Orleans and Jacksonville, to have never played in a Super Bowl or NFL championship game.