Texans reportedly hire David Culley as head coach; Ravens would receive draft picks under NFL rule
BALTIMORE — The Houston Texans have hired Ravens assistant coach David Culley to be their next head coach, according to reports Tuesday.
Culley, 65, who joined coach John Harbaugh’s staff in Baltimore as an assistant head coach, passing-game coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2019, reportedly beat out Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier for the position. Culley is the first Black coach and second minority coach hired in this coaching cycle.
Harbaugh had hailed Culley as an “excellent” head coaching candidate ahead of the Ravens’ wild-card-round game against the Tennessee Titans. Culley, who’s never been an offensive coordinator in the NFL, was “excited” about the chance to interview, Harbaugh said.
“It’s obviously a great job,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity there. They’ve got a heck of an organization. I do believe that David Culley would be a tremendous hire for any team, and maybe especially the Texans with [quarterback] Deshaun Watson.”
In Culley’s first season in Baltimore, quarterback Lamar Jackson led the league in passing touchdowns and was named NFL Most Valuable Player. Even with a young receiving corps, the Ravens finished with the league’s most efficient passing offense, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA. In 2020, the Ravens fell to 17th in passing efficiency and ranked last in passing yards.
Under a new NFL rule that incentivizes the development of minority candidates for head coach and general manager positions, the Ravens will be awarded a third-round compensatory pick in the 2021 and 2022 NFL drafts. Not including compensatory selections, they currently have five picks in this year’s draft, including the No. 27 overall selection.
Culley spent two seasons as the Bills’ quarterbacks coach before becoming the first assistant coach under Harbaugh to serve as a passing-game coordinator. He previously served with Harbaugh for a decade on Andy Reid’s Philadelphia Eagles staff and later under Reid in Kansas City.
The Houston Chronicle first reported Culley’s hiring Tuesday, the fourth departure from Harbaugh’s staff this offseason. The Ravens previously lost defensive line coach Joe Cullen, now the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive coordinator; linebackers coach Mike Macdonald, now Michigan’s defensive coordinator; and defensive backs coach Mike Minter, who’s set to be named Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator.
