Texans Coach Culley Credibility Still in Doubt
HOUSTON - The Houston Texans introduced new head coach David Culley on Friday and read off the successful people Culley has coached under as part of his lengthy resume.
What Caserio didn't hit on were some of the questions about Culley's career and what it means going forward for the Texans.
It seems the Texans will retain offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, but there was no exposition on Culley's level of involvement on offense going forward.
What does Culley - beyond his strong statement regarding planning on Deshaun Watson remaining in Houston - bring to the table from his various stints under impressive offensive minds?
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Nobody knows. He didn't say. Neither did Caserio. The fact he coached under impressive head coaches like Andy Reid and John Harbaugh was noted, but the production of what he was in charge of in those stops was ignored.
There is no doubt Culley's energy and personality were a driving factor for the Texans in this hiring process. Culley's personality is infectious and you can tell he is grateful the Texans took a risk on him.
His potential for production, though, is still a huge question.
Culley recently coached for the Ravens as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. The Ravens passing attack was last in football in 2020.
Prior to his stint in Baltimore, Culley was the quarterback coach for the Bills in 2017 and 2018. Tyrod Taylor was fine in 2017 but declined from two previous seasons of decent production. The passing attack for the Bills was ranked 31st overall. In 2018, Josh Allen had a disastrous rookie year and the passing attack remained 31st overall.
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Culley has had other head-scratching performances from his position groups as well. In 2014, the wide receivers caught no touchdowns for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles were up and down with the wide receivers in his tenure under Andy Reid as well.
While the personality is a clear positive for Culley, nothing was mentioned to soothe the concerns about Culley's coaching ability.
The time for talk has seemingly passed. David Culley, in what is likely his only shot to ever be a head coach in the NFL, has to have his action speak louder than his exciting words.
But in Friday's introductory press conference? It was about vague promises and random resume items. Houston Texans fans surely look forward to specifics, action and tangible proof. The organization, on what would normally, for a normal franchise be a day of excitement ... failed to answer questions and failed to fill voids.
The "credibility question'' therefore remains in place.
