The Houston Texans hired David Culley as their fourth full-time coach in franchise history, according to reports that surfaced Wednesday evening.
As soon as Twitter caught wind of the news, users of the social media platform excoriated the Texans for hiring the Baltimore Ravens receivers coach and assistant head coach to be the man on the sidelines to replace Bill O’Brien, who was fired on Oct. 5, 2020.
Some of the criticism about Culley getting hired for the job was the fact that he was the Ravens’ passing game coordinator, which seemed to have some issues in 2020 as Baltimore finished 11-5 and lost in the divisional playoffs to the Buffalo Bills.
Ya never know but for the last two months smart analysts have been KILLING the Ravens passing game plan. And their pass game coordinator just became Watson's HC. https://t.co/F9wSTfG1WH
— Jeff Cavanaugh (@JC1053) January 28, 2021
Pro Football Hall of Fame voter Charean Williams pointed out the obvious task that Culley has to deal with in Houston.
Anyone who knows David Culley is ecstatic for him. I've known him for 30 years. He never thought he would get a chance to become a head coach and was fine with it. Now, he has a big job in front of him, starting with Deshaun Watson's future.
— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) January 28, 2021
Williams isn’t the only Aggie pleased with the hiring of Culley.
Former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum on Texans hiring David Culley: "I'm so excited for him. That is awesome. He’ll do a great job. He is the kind of guy in the clubhouse players respond to. He'll rally the guys around him. He’ll be a fun guy to play for and work for.”
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 28, 2021
Of course, that invites its own comedy as Watson remains disgruntled with the organization.
Texans: “We have hired a guy named David Culley as our new head coach.”
Deshaun Watson: pic.twitter.com/1bE5jwLuh4
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) January 28, 2021
Whoever was briefly in charge of updating the Wikipedia page of David Culley and also the Houston #Texans is apparently not thrilled with his hire as head coach, I guess. Culley’s Wikipedia page is seeing a traffic spike percentage that would murder even GameStop’s stock numbers. pic.twitter.com/o7ilLF1HIL
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) January 28, 2021
Cole Thompson, a Texans Wire alumnus, provided some interesting facts about the 65-year-old.
Let’s knock out some quick facts on presumable #Texans HC David Culley:
– First black QB to play at Vanderbilt
– Worked with Andy Reid for 14 years in Philadelphia
– Worked with Deshaun Watson at the 2019 Pro Bowl
– First minority HC hire in #Texans franchise history
— Cole Thompson (@MrColeThompson) January 28, 2021
Who is David Culley: Culley has been in coaching for 27 years and spent 16 seasons with Andy Reid at Philadelphia and Kansas City. His ability to connect with players and be a leader of men and command the room is something John Harbaugh raved about when asked about him.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 28, 2021
There are also some “fun facts” about Culley’s work in the NFL.
I don't know if David Culley will be a good head coach, maybe he will be, but I think it's undeniably funny that the Chiefs' WR coach from the year that had zero touchdown passes to WRs is getting a head coaching job.
— Joshua Brisco (@jbbrisco) January 28, 2021
If the fan base is upset after the hiring of Culley, he can quickly get on their good side, even before he makes up and moves on with Watson.
One thing we can all agree on if David Culley gets the job and fires Mike Devlin he’s already a hall of famer in my book.
— Scottish Texans (@ScottishTexans) January 27, 2021
If things with Culley don’t work out, Houston still has some options.
If David Culley is unsuccessful, the Texans could always go after Bama OC William O'Brien
— Chris Gordy (@ChrisGordy) January 28, 2021
The Texans’ nightmare is over. The general manager is hired, so is the new coach. Now, it is time to get the franchise quarterback back on-board and rebuild the team that won the AFC South just 13 months ago.
