How much longer is David Culley going to be the head coach of the Houston Texans? That. Is. The. Question.
Only general manager Nick Caserio can answer that question, or not. As of right now that question remains uncertain and there’s uncertainty about the future of Culley.
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What we do know is Culley’s tenure has been really bad. Nobody expected this team to win many games and talent is limited, but Culley has been poor in any tangible way a head coach is measured.
Outsiders will wonder how many coaches could succeed with this flawed culture and lack of talent on the roster, which is fair. I don’t expect anyone outside of Houston to watch every snap of 2021 Texans football. Unless they want to torture themselves. However, anyone who has watched this team has seen Culley struggle to resemble a competent head coach.
Culley’s in-game management has been next level awful. The lack of grasp of things has been displayed at the podium every time he has spoken. There was a disagreement with the most respected player in the locker room that led to a benching and there have been multiple times where Culley has said something on Sunday that resembled a guy who wasn’t even at the game, which he has had to clean up at the Monday presser.
I’m sure I left out some stuff, but you get the point.
Evaluating a head coach is about more than wins and losses, especially in this situation and in this city. Bill O’Brien wasn’t as good of a coach as his resume would lead some outsiders to believe and Culley might be even worse than his 2-10 record.
Culley, who is a nice guy and one of the most well-respected men in the league, has been really bad as a head coach and one of the worst I’ve ever seen.
The four worst NFL head coaches of my lifetime are in no particular order: Culley, Jim Tomsula, Dave Campo and Freddie Kitchens.
Two of the other three guys on my list, Tomsula and Kitchens, only lasted a year. Could Culley be one-and-done?
Which one does Culley compare to? Let’s go through the list.
DAVE CAMPO
Campo is the only one who lasted more than one year during what many considered to be one of the worst three-year stretches of front office work when Jerry Jones was at his worst. The Texans from April 2019 to present is a worse stretch because the Cowboys roster at least aged, the new salary cap emerged and Jones, unlike Jack (Easterby) and Bill (O’Brien), at least stayed out of the way enough to reach ultimate glory. The Texans’ shot-callers stripped assets such as cap space, draft picks and talent while alienating the franchise QB and fan base.
Cowboys fans were restless and pissed at Jerry, but also had three Super Bowls because Jerry hired Jimmy Johnson and provided once in a lifetime glory days.
Unlike Jones, Easterby has no sweat equity and or anything tangible to hang his hat on in Houston. But with Caserio here it’s hard to imagine Culley lasting as long as Campo.
FREDDIE KITCHENS
Kitchens was hired because the Browns were trying to please their QB, which may have been a mistake. But that could have as much to do with the QB as the coach.
There are many people in town who would rather have Kitchens for a year and a happy QB, rather than the optics and context clues that Easterby was chosen over Watson. Plus, Cleveland fired Kitchens after one year and appears to have a good coach, but needs a QB.
JIM TOMSULA AND CULLEY, THAT’S THE COMPARISON
Tomsula and Culley are similar situations in many ways:
Neither was ever a coordinator in the NFL.
Both replaced hard-headed coaches with big egos who hung their hat on previous success and left with their organization in a tumultuous state.
Both had opposite personalities of the previous head coach.
Both had epic press conference blooper reels.
Both were considered to be VERY nice guys. Culley seems like an amazing guy, if I haven’t already made that clear.
There are many similarities between the two situations.
Will Culley be one-and-done like Tomsula?
Culley being one-and-done would be fair regardless of any outside noise.
When Culley is gone there will be a narrative pushed that he never had a chance and was a victim of a bad organization. That’s incorrect.
Culley is a beneficiary, not victim, of the dysfunction, just like a lot of the players on this roster who wouldn’t have their current role on other teams. No other NFL organization was going to hire Culley to be their head coach. Just like no other organization was going to hire Campo, Tomsula or Kitchens when they got their opportunities.
I’m not saying this to minimize the current state of the Texans organization. As Andre Johnson said, what has happened in Houston since Jack Easterby’s arrival in 2019 has been all bad. It’s the worst display of front office work that I’ve ever witnessed during that period of time.
Culley looks like Bill Belichick as a head coach compared to Easterby as a front office guy. With the current roster a new coach might not add many wins or buzz around town. However, the exit of Jack would revive the fans and increase Caserio and Cal McNair’s approval rating significantly.
Could Caserio make that call even if he wanted to? Texans insider John McClain told us Tuesday that could be difficult because Easterby has, for whatever reason, the trust of the McNair family.
As for Culley, Caserio would not commit to Culley past 2022 during his visit with Payne and Pendergast on SportsRadio610.
Culley’s age, experience, perspective and grasp of life will make it very easy for him to appreciate the opportunity, but how much longer is his tenure going to last?
Only Caserio knows.
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