The Houston Texans hired David Culley as their head coach in January 2021.
Breaking: The Texans are hiring Ravens assistant David Culley to be their next head coach, a source told @AdamSchefter, confirming a report by the Houston Chronicle. pic.twitter.com/oJsZ6w2QfY
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 28, 2021
Culley enters an organization in flux, to put it mildly, and it appears he is trying to walk the line between management and players’ interests.
Is David Culley the right choice as head coach of the Texans in this environment?
The answer is no, and here is why.
1. Culley Has No Head Coaching Experience
David Culley is 65 years old, and he has been working in the NFL for decades.
Yet he is not a household name beyond the organizations that he worked in.
Most recently, he was an assistant head coach, wide receivers coach & passing game coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens from 2019-2020.
He has moved around a lot in the NFL; he spent the most time working with Andy Reid with both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The good news is that Culley has seen strong leadership from the likes of Reid, John Harbaugh, and Bill Cowher, but the bad news is that he has not been a head coach before.
Taking this job with the Texans when the team just released their future Hall of Fame defensive end JJ Watt, and there are obvious issues with superstar quarterback Deshaun Watson is a recipe for disaster.
To be fair, this situation requires the likes of Vince Lombardi.
2. The Houston Texans Are Sinking Like The Titanic
Culley is between a rock and a hard place.
He wants to do well, and he wants the respect of both management and players.
With management and players at an obvious disconnect, that is a monumental task.
Deshaun Watson has made it clear that he will not play for the Texans.
Yet the Texans including Culley continue to say he is their starting quarterback.
The organization is tone-deaf, and Culley arrived just in time to go down with the sinking ship.
I really want to like David Culley. He seems incredibly likeable. But this strategy of denying that there’s any kind of quarterback strife is unconscionably misguided.
— Seth C. Payne (@SethCPayne) March 11, 2021
3. He Is An Easy Fall Guy.
As mentioned above, Culley has no head coaching experience.
That is not to suggest he is not qualified to be a head coach, but stepping into the Texans organization with no prior head coaching experience to draw from is problematic for Culley.
He becomes an easy target and potential fall guy when the whole house of cards crumbles.
Even press conferences about one month into his coaching tenure have caused him trouble.
He is dealing with off-the-field issues; this is supposed to be the easier time of year.
How will he manage the postgame press conferences?
The Texans should have pursued a more seasoned head coach for the situation they are in.
Maybe they did, and no one wanted the job.
It is unfortunate that David Culley waited his entire career for a head coaching opportunity, and this is the one that found him.
Of course, Culley could have declined the job; he was not forced.
He must be up to the challenge.
Hopefully, he has more success and a smoother road ahead if and when the Texans sort out this Deshaun Watson situation.
NEXT: What Would A Deshaun Watson Trade Package Look Like?