Houston Texans hiring Ravens’ David Culley as head coach
The Houston Texans are closing in on becoming the seventh NFL team to fill a head coaching vacancy with news Wednesday they will hire Baltimore Ravens assistant David Culley.
The news was first reported by the Houston Chronicle, which reported Culley and the Texans were working toward a contract.
Culley spent the past two seasons in Baltimore. He has been an NFL coach for 27 years. Culley was Baltimore’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. The Ravens finished the 2020 season ranked last in the NFL in passing.
The seven new head coaching hires:
Chargers: Brandon Staley
Eagles: Nick Sirianni
Falcons: Arthur Smith
Jaguars: Urban Meyer
Jets: Robert Saleh
Lions: Dan Campbell
Texans: David CulleyAll first time permanent NFL head coaches.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 28, 2021
Culley is stepping into a challenging situation. Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson is at odds with management over its indifference toward his suggestions while looking for a GM and coach.
McClain: Culley becomes fourth coach in team history https://t.co/fNWKekKeKY
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) January 28, 2021
The Texans previously hired Nick Caserio from the New England Patriots’ organization as GM.
Watson had suggested team speak with Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy about the opening, which came about after Bill O’Brien was fired following an 0-4 start and Romeo Crennel finished as interim coach with a 4-8 mark.
The Texans were a playoff team in 2019 and sunk to 4-12 in 2020. They also traded All-Pro WR DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals in the offseason in a controversial move.
The Ravens, meanwhile, will receive two third-round compensatory picks (one in 2021 and another in 2022) for Culley getting hired from their staff. This comes from a resolution adopted in November that is meant to incentivize NFL teams to develop and hire minority candidates for head-coaching and general manager positions.
