Three AFC teams have been outscored by at least 140 points this season, but the Texans lead the pack (and the NFL) with a minus-159 point differential. David Culley‘s debut is tracking toward finishing with the worst margin of defeat in franchise history.
That said, the Texans — at the start of a potentially long rebuild and navigating a complex Deshaun Watson situation — were expected to be one of the NFL’s worst teams. And they are likely to bring back their head coach for a second season, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com notes (ESPN+ link).
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Culley, 66, was an unexpected hire due to his age and lack of connection to other teams during this past HC hiring period. Only the Texans interviewed the ex-Ravens wide receivers coach. Houston GM Nick Caserio then proceeded to fill the roster with numerous midlevel free agents, some of whom have since been traded or cut, on short-term deals. Culley was also tasked with an awkward transition from Watson, who requested a trade before 22 criminal and civil suits alleging sexual assault and/or sexual misconduct emerged.
Houston’s job would not exactly be appealing were it to become available again in 2022, so keeping Culley — who was given a five-year contract in January — makes sense. That said, Caserio might have another plan in mind ahead of the next phase of the team’s rebuild. The first-year GM has eyed one unnamed coach since before accepting the Texans job, Albert Breer of SI.com adds. Given the rumors of Caserio and Josh McDaniels being a package deal elsewhere in previous offseasons, the longtime Patriots OC would certainly be a reasonable guess as the ex-New England exec’s preference for a longer-term option.
If the Texans can unload Watson before the draft, that would do well to accelerate their rebuild. The team still has a shot at the 2022 No. 1 overall pick, but the Lions (1-11-1) still lead the way with five weeks to go. Joining the Jaguars at 2-10, the Texans landing a top-five choice is a near-certainty. Because of trades by the previous Houston regime, the team did not have first- or second-round picks in the 2021 draft.
Requested a trade? More like demanded one. Watson wasn’t going to be the same with or without the lawsuits, had he returned at all. That’s one reason Culley got the job-between the dysfunction and lack of the star quarterback, not many high end coaches wanted the job as is.
Culley seems to be primarily tasked with just holding the team together and starting to build a culture for Caserio while he “fixes” the organization. Whenever it is that Caserio feels that he’s done that (maybe in a year, maybe in two), Culley will likely be replaced by the coach that Caserio really wants. Here’s the wrench that could be thrown in there: if Culley actually does a good job setting a strong foundation, would he be too tied to the team’s success or potential success to be let go? Would the Texans just assume that their handpicked replacement would be better and end up even worse?
I actually hope that Culley does succeed and make himself invaluable. From the Texans games I’ve seen, seems like a mature leader in a locker room full of dysfunction and turnover, and he would be an admirable success story as a dark horse candidate. Caserio should consider keeping Culley if he gets him good players and the team subsequently improves dramatically.
I’m guessing the coach Caserio “really wants” is Bill Belichick…lol.
He deserves a couple seasons once the roster is built up through the draft and free agency to see what he brings as a HC.
He got thrown into a mess and has handled it pretty well considering the roster is devoid of talent overall.
He’ll be 67 next season. Building back the roster will take 2 years at least. Then he’ll be 69. And you want to give him “a couple of seasons” after that?
Does age matter if you have a good coach? They’ll give him 3 if not 4 seasons. It looks bad if a team cycles through coaches.
If they do let him go Texans should bring in the OC from Minnesota.
Yes. Even Pete Carroll is starting to show his age out in Seattle. Tom Landry was removed over age concerns. Bill Belichick probably has a few good seasons left but has looked rough around the edges last season. He’s holding it together over his legacy – can he win without Brady – but Belichick is starting from the position of most winning coach in NFL history which means even if he slips a bit, he’s still first tier.
All this indicates is that the Texans realize that they need io finish last again in 2022 in order to fix their Bill O’Brien era mistakes.
You think Culley is helping them perform badly? If anything, 2 wins is a stunning achievement with this roster.
lol
Culley has done impressively in a job no top candidate wanted. There’s no ace QB prospect in this year’s draft and their roster is barren, so it’s not like they would find better. Frankly, it’s astounding they have two wins. It’s too bad he didn’t get a shot earlier. He at least deserves to be a caretaker head coach until they rebuild that roster enough for a younger, flashier coach to step in.