NFL Rumors: David Culley was never going to be Texans' choice ever

The Houston Texans made the somewhat shocking decision to fire head coach David Culley after one season on the job. He inherited what was arguably the worst roster in the NFL and led a team missing its top star in Deshaun Watson.

The team's 4-13 record was nothing to celebrate. But it does stand out as a minor achievement given the fact rookie Davis Mills was forced into action early and ended up looking like a suitable option.

It may just be that the Texans never saw the head coach as a long-term option. ESPN's Adam Schefter said as much in an interesting tweet.

When the Texans hired David Culley, they only guaranteed him two years of money; they knew there always was the real chance he would be one and done. As one league source texted about his one-year tenure, “I knew it when he was hired.”

So the Texans hired Culley with a plan to fire him? While that may come across as a bit dramatic, it's clear GM Nick Caserio had no desire to keep the relationship going past a season or two.

David Culley was not for long with the Texans

Houston Texans v Arizona Cardinals

Why would a franchise hire a coach with no expectation of keeping him around for long? Well, the Texans found themselves in a shocking position last offseason. The 2020 season began with Bill O'Brien as the head coach and GM, only for him to be fired after an 0-4 start.

The rest of the season was a total wash and the team found a new GM in Caserio. The franchise then waited all the way until January 29 to hire Culley. That meant top candidates were either snapped up or made it clear they had no desire to guide the sinking Texans ship.

It's possible the Texans signed him simply as a placeholder for what was destined to be a bad season, as talented quarterback Watson was never going to play, with the prospect remaining grim throughout 2021.

That explains the Culley hiring a bit better too. He spent decades as an assistant, only to get his first head coaching job at the age of 65. He was not some young coordinator standing out as a top prospect. Getting this job was a nice culmination of decades of hard work, even if he showed up knowing the outlook was bad.

One takeaway here is that the Texans signed Culley to a deal that could best be described as a sketchy one. But he took it anyway and seemed to enjoy his time leading the team in 2021.

His firing also reflects great on him, and poorly on the franchise. Doing business like this may only hurt the team as they try to convince a new head coach that they won't be fired if 2022 goes south.

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