The Houston Shuffle
On Thursday, the Houston Texans released David Culley after only one season with the team, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero.
Culley is the first non-interim head coach to be fired from Houston with only one year under his belt.
Houston’s General Manager, Nick Caserio, stated in a press release that the move was due to “philosophical differences over long-term direction.”
Further illuminating the situation, Rapoport reported that Culley was released due to not wanting to make changes to offensive personnel.
“He would not make changes to his offensive staff, source said. Houston had the No. 32 ranked offense, Culley wanted to stay the course.” tweeted Rapoport.
Alongside Culley’s firing, Texans offensive coordinator was also fired, and other changes would follow as well, as tweeted by Rapoport.
Despite the teams rough 4-13 finish, Culley’s record as a head coach likely will not be counted against him.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson had already requested a trade before Culley was brought onto the organization, and only mere weeks into his term, the Texan’s most notable star to-date, J.J. Watt, was released by the organization.
A talent poor team that released leaders like Mark Ingram, Whitney Mercilus, and Anthony Miller, Houston had close games against much more skilled rosters like the Patriots and Titans, and even had a surprise upset against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Culley also made the final decision of choosing to start third-round pick Davis Mills, who saw improvement in his last games of the season, posting a passer rating of 92 or better in four of his last five games and a 9-2 touchdown to interception ratio. According to pro-football-reference.com
There is a white lining to David Culley’s woes.
According to Tom Pelissero, the Texans still owe Culley $17 million over three years.
“The #Texans owe David Culley another $17 million over the next three years, per source. So Culley walks away with roughly $22 million for one season as Houston's head coach.” Tweeted Pelissero.
The Texans carry an estimated cap space of $20.5 million into 2022—according to Over The Cap—and over $35 million of dead cap due to roster adjustments. Leaving GM Nick Caserio’s work cut out for him.