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The Houston Texans have fired head coach David Culley after one season, NFL Network reported on Thursday afternoon. Culley was hired by the Texans on January 29th of last year, so he almost made it one full year with the organization, which is a mess. Culley wen 4-13 in his lone season in Houston, having to lead a team without QB Deshaun Watson.
Update — Patriots LB coach Jerod Mayo is a leading candidate to take the HC job in Houston, per Adam Schefter. Mayo played eight seasons for New England and was a two-time pro-bowler, helping the Pats win the Super Bowl in 2014. He was hired by the Patriots in 2019 to coach the linebackers. At age 35, Mayo would be making the jump to head coach very quickly. He’d be the second-youngest head coach in the NFL behind Rams’ Sean McVay (34).
Another reason why Culley was let go, per reports, is because he refused to make changes to his offensive staff. Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly was also fired by the Texans. It appears more changes are on the horizon.
The fact the Texans were able to win four games is a miracle in itself, so hats off to Culley for doing that in one season. He was hired into a horrible situation and shouldn’t be to blame for the Texans’ shortcomings. Culley is a well-respected assistant around the NFL and should be able to find a job easily, as do most fired head coaches when things don’t work out. Culley was only under a two-year deal and reports say people around the league didn’t expect him to be in Houston long.
The Texans will have the No. 3 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The team will have to find a new home for Watson, so he’s likely to be traded before the draft. Whomever is brought in to take over this team will have plenty of work to do. There’s some optimism given how rookie QB Davis Mills played down the stretch to end the season. That’s about it though. The rest of the roster needs a ton of work. This won’t be a quick turnaround.
The Texans are the eighth team this offseason to fire their head coach. Houston’s decision may have been influenced by the amount of coaches who are free agents this season. Former Miami Dolphins HC Brian Flores is sure to get a lot of attention from teams.