Is David Culley a good head coach?
It’s too early to say, “Absolutely not”. But a better conversation would be, “Is Culley a good fit in Houston?” That’s the question that’s more fitting to Culley, as the Houston Texans players are not responding.
Certainly, the fact that he has the limited talent to work with is an issue. But he’s not getting the most out of the more talented players and lacking contributions from the depth chart.
The great NFL “Philosopher” Ricky Williams once said, “A team takes on the personality of the head coach.” This is easily seen throughout the NFL. With a tough-minded coach, one gets a tough-minded team, and the defensive-minded coaches breed defense and so on.
So, what does “seemingly mild-mannered” David Culley bring? A mild-mannered team of course. Possibly a better description, a team without fire.
It’s not always right to say a team has quit. Most often the team doesn’t have another gear or “can’t step up” because that is the way the head coach guides the team. Some players respond well to calm coaches while others need a kick in the pants to get going. It is safe to say the Texans are not responding to the calm demeanor of Culley.
Houston Texans fans shouldn’t be surprised about David Culley’s rookie season record
The lack of success under Culley should not be a surprise, as his coaching record isn’t stellar. It’s impossible to see him as anything other than a placeholder for the future head coach of the Houston Texans.
Many won’t agree, but Culley appears to be a guy who would take the job for a year then move up in the organization to perhaps a “special assistant to the GM” or similar role and make room for the new head coach.
Let’s be realistic. What coach would take a job with a team without a quarterback? Not just having a bad quarterback. But have no quarterback at all. Many wondered why good candidates said, “No thank you”.
That was exactly what General Manager Nick Caserio was selling last year: and no one was buying. Culley saw all of this unfolding and how bad the infrastructure of the team was, and Culley said yes when he was offered the job.
It’s looking less and less like that Culley is the long-term answer in Houston. Now, don’t get angry when Caserio hires Josh McDaniels from the Patriots. That seems inevitable at this point. But it’s hard to argue that any of the future candidates would not be a better fit for the Texans than what they have now. What does the future hold? Whatever and whoever it is, let Texans fans just hope it’s a good fit.