Every Houston Texans head coach in team history
The NFL granted Houston an expansion team in 2002 and that's when the Houston Texans were born. Since entering the league in 2002, the Texans have had eight different head coaches. After one decade, the Texans had just two head coaches, and after two decades, that number grew to seven.
The Texans had stability at the head coaching spot for several years with Bill O'Brien at the helm, but after firing him early in the 2020 season, they went on to have four head coaches over the next three years.
Hopefully, the Texans have found consistency with DeMeco Ryans and this number won't grow from eight for quite some time. With all of that said, let's take a look at every head coach in Texans history.
Every Texans head coach in franchise history
Name (Tenure with HOU) | Record with HOU (Winning percentage) | Playoff record with HOU (Winning percentage) |
|---|---|---|
Dom Capers (2002-2005) | 18-46 (.281) | N/A |
Gary Kubiak (2006-2013) | 61-64 (.488) | 2-2 (.500) |
Wade Phillips (2013) | 0-3 (.000) | N/A |
Bill O'Brien (2014-2020) | 52-48 (.520) | 2-4 (.333) |
Romeo Crennel (2020) | 4-8 (.333) | N/A |
David Culley (2021) | 4-13 (.235) | N/A |
Lovie Smith (2022) | 3-13-1 (.206) | N/A |
DeMeco Ryans (2023-Present) | 10-7 (.588) | 1-1 (.500) |
Dom Capers
The first head coach in Texans franchise history was Dom Capers, who had experience as an expansion head coach, serving in that role for the Carolina Panthers during their first four seasons. Capers had a defensive background, having worked as the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator in the years leading up to him taking the Texans job.
After the Texans failed to post a winning record in their first four years, Capers was fired and the Texans had to search for the second-ever head coach in franchise history.
Gary Kubiak
The second head coach in Texans history was Gary Kubiak, who had been the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos before the Texans hired him. The Texans had gone with a defensive-minded coach for their first hire so it made sense to hire someone with an offensive background for their second coach.
Kubiak slowly improved the Texans with them posting their first non-losing season in 2007 (his second year at the helm) and then getting them to their first winning season in 2009. The Texans made their first playoff appearance in 2011, Kubiak's sixth year leading the team, and they won their first playoff game that same season.
Unfortunately, the Texans had a miserable 2013 season and Kubiak had collapsed on the field during a midseason game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans fired him with three games remaining in the season.
Kubiak finished his Texans head coaching tenure with a 61-64 record and 2-2 playoff record. Considering how rough of shape the team was in when he got there, he was the right hire even if things didn't end on a great note.
Wade Phillips
After the Texans fired Gary Kubiak with three games to go in the 2013 season, Wade Phillips was named the interim head coach. Phillips had been the defensive coordinator of the Texans since 2011 but did not thrive in the head coaching role, as Houston went 0-3 under his tutelage. The two parted ways at the end of the season.
Bill O'Brien
In 2014, the Texans hired Bill O'Brien as the fourth head coach in franchise history. O'Brien had risen to fame as the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions and he proved to be just what the Texans needed coming off a rough 2013 campaign.
O'Brien led the Texans to a winning record in his first year on the job. The Texans went 9-7 under O'Brien in his first three years, and in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, nine wins were enough to get Houston a division title.
The Texans suffered their first losing season under O'Brien in 2017 but bounced back and put together double-digit win seasons in 2018 and 2019. Unfortunately, the team fumbled hard in the AFC Divisional Round against the Chiefs in the 2019 playoffs, blowing a 24-0 lead.
O'Brien was fired just four games into the 2020 season after Houston failed to win a single game. O'Brien also served as the general manager for two years and that helped lead to his downfall with the organization.
Romeo Crennel
After Bill O'Brien was fired early in the 2020 season, Romeo Crennel was hired as the interim head coach. Crennel was the Texans defensive coordinator during O'Brien's entire tenure so it made sense to put him in this role. That being said, he hadn't been a stellar head coach in any of his previous attempts so, as expected, the Texans weren't very good and finished with just four wins on the season.
David Culley
When the Texans hired David Culley to be their sixth head coach in franchise history in 2021, there was a lot of "Huh?" reactions and deservedly so. With names like Eric Bieniemy on the market, it felt strange to see the Texans go with a guy who really wasn't a big name on the head coach market.
In just one season as the head coach, Culley led the Texans to a 4-13 season and was fired at the end of the year. While it wasn't surprising seeing the Texans struggle in 2021, it'd have been hard for any head coach to come in and lead that team to more than a handful of wins. It didn't feel as though Culley got a fair shake at keeping the job but the team did what it felt was best for the direction of the franchise.
Lovie Smith
For the second straight year, the Texans were searching for a new head coach and ultimately settled on Lovie Smith. Like the Culley hire, Smith seemed like a surprising head coach hire for the Texans. Sure, he was their defensive coordinator in 2021, and promoting an in-house name is a common move for teams but it never really seemed like Smith was in the running for the job until he was named the head coach.
The Texans had another miserable season in 2022, winning just three games and firing Smith when the season came to an end. A lot of people were irritated that the team won the final game of the season, bumping them from landing the number one pick to now securing the second overall pick. That ended up working out well for them but it was just yet another head scratching moment from the Lovie Smith era.
DeMeco Ryans
2023 marked the third straight year that the Texans were in the process of searching for a new head coach and they needed to get it right this time. While it's only been one year of the DeMeco Ryans project, they didn't have to find a new head coach for a fourth straight year, so that's a step in the right direction.
All jokes aside, Ryans proved to be the right guy for the job in 2023. He helped lead a Texans team with a rookie quarterback to a division title and a playoff win, the Texans' first playoff win since the Bill O'Brien era. As is the case with any head coach, time will tell how Ryans' tenure with the team shakes out but Year 1 was successful and now fans are hoping to see the Texans build on that.
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