Houston Texans fans remember Tim Kelly with not the best of memories.
The 2021 Houston Texans season was a painful one, and former offensive coordinator Tim Kelly did not help the pain at all. Baffling calls and sequencing by Kelly were just some of the reasons he was fired alongside David Culley.
Well, it turns out that Kelly’s NFL tenure isn’t over yet. After spending three years as the OC with the Texans, Kelly was recently interviewed by the Carolina Panthers for the same role. That’s great for Kelly, and we wish him nothing but success.
However, Carolina may want to re-think about hiring Kelly. Look at how the Texans erroneously lacked trust in Davis Mills earlier this season. Ironically, their Thursday Night matchup in which Mills made his first start against Carolina stands as one of Kelly’s biggest head-scratchers.
The Panthers have spoken to Packers QB coach Luke Getsy and former Texans OC Tim Kelly for their offensive coordinator job, per sources. Matt Rhule and Carolina are talking to a variety of candidates.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 18, 2022
Who will the Houston Texans hire to replace Tim Kelly?
This hinges upon the head coach that gets hired, and the leading internal candidate would be Quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton. There are a handful of other targets that we’ve ranked into “Target and avoid” categories.
Another name that can be considered is Mike Kafka of the Kansas City Chiefs, most famous for being Patrick Mahomes’ quarterback coach. However, there is a positive outlook on Davis Mills’ career, and the right offensive coordinator can help unlock his talent.
If that can happen and Houston can avoid using a first-round pick on a quarterback, then the Texans’ path to relevancy will be much shorter. As long as the new offensive coordinator can balance the offense and improve the rushing attack from dead last into the high 20s, it will result in Houston winning a few more games in 2022.