Unreliable: Houston’s former head coach has declared his intention to rejoin the group.
Before eventually landing his first head coaching position with the Houston Texans, David Culley worked for 43 years as an assistant in both college and the NFL.
He was fired on Thursday after just one season in the NFL, leaving Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin as the only black head coach. Brian Flores of Miami was fired this week, following a 9-8 season.
On Thursday night, the Texans declared the dismissal of offensive coordinators Tim Kelly and Culley. Speaking to both men earlier in the day, general manager Nick Caserio explained that they had to make a “difficult but necessary decision.”
“While a change after one season is unusual, we had philosophical differences over the long-term direction and vision for our program moving forward.”
The 66-year-old Culley, who has been an NFL assistant since 1994, was brought on board in January of last year to take Bill O’Brien’s place. He took over a 2020 squad that, with Deshaun Watson at quarterback, finished 4-12.
Around the time Culley was hired, Watson made a trade request. Prior to that, 22 women sued the quarterback, claiming that he had sexually harassed or assaulted them. These problems kept Watson out of action for the entire season and sparked a rebuilding project in Houston that put Culley in charge of a diminished squad.
Without Watson and with a roster that saw the majority of the few good starters still on it either traded or cut as the season went on, Culley didn’t have much of a chance.
