There’s a new sheriff in town for the Houston Texans, and he’s not the one anyone expected. The team reportedly will sign David Culley as their new coach after a long, controversial search, with the 65-year-old becoming the oldest NFL coach for the first time in league history. Culley joins the Texans after spending two seasons with John Harbaugh as part of the Baltimore Ravens coaching staff and has a total of 27 seasons of coaching experience at the NFL level – more than 40 years in all. As he prepares to take over the reins in South Texas, it looks like he and the organization are already eyeing who will join him, and that includes Lovie Smith and Josh McCown, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Smith would be a great achievement for the Texans in the role of defensive coordinator, considering his profile at a professional level.
A longtime Chicago Bears coach, Smith was defined by his ability to assemble and train an impactful defense, which helped him get a job as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach after his divorce from the Bears. The Buccaneers would change course soon and go after a much larger whale at Bruce Arians, and Smith would take his talents back to the collegiate as a head coach at the University of Illinois in 2016 – where he remained until he separated from the Fighting Illini in 2020 If he chooses to join Culley as DC in Houston, it will mark the end of a half-decade hiatus in the NFL, from which he left with a 89-87 record as head coach.
As noted, he can also join ex-quarterback Josh McCown, who was interviewed for the Texans coach spot before being defeated by Culley. It is not clear what role McCown would play, but it is clear that Houston likes what he would bring to the table. They will also keep Tim Kelly on board in the role of offensive coordinator, presumably to maintain some level of continuity on the team for Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson, who remains unhappy with the team and has not yet spoken publicly about hiring Culley after seeing him defeat Leslie Frazier, Jim Caldwell and Eric Bieniemy; and it was for the latter that Watson hit the table initially.
This is simply part of the reason why the relationship between Watson and the Texans is fractured, and although Culley works to bring his team together for 2021, he knows that his biggest problem will be trying to ensure that his franchise quarterback remains – something that is much easier said than done right now.