David Culley has yet to be informed about his status by management and is still being evaluated by the Texans organization with a potential change in leadership a distinct possibility as a decision is still being determined, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future, the head coach expressed confidence in his status when asked if he expects to return next season following a 28-25 defeat to the Tennessee Titans in the Texans’ season finale at NRG Stadium.
Culley, 66, finished 4-13 in his first year as a head coach at any level.
"I haven't had any questions or doubts at all about what's getting ready to happen," Culley said. "I'm looking forward to being the head coach of this football team next year. Haven't thought about it one minute. .. As of right now, I feel like I will be coaching this team next year.”
Culley acknowledged that there will be conversations with management, including general manager Nick Caserio and chairman and CEO Cal McNair, about his future with the AFC South franchise. He made no predictions about how those discussions will go.
“I’ll let them make that decision,” Culley said.
There has been plenty of speculation about whether offensive coordinator Tim Kelly will return, but Culley expressed confidence that he will return for the second time in the past few days. There are questions about whether Kelly will return along with other staff members, including passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton.
“Still do expect that,” Culley said of Kelly. “I feel the same thing about our whole coaching staff. I've got confidence in this entire coaching staff, not just singling out one guy. I would want this whole entire coaching staff back.”
A detailed review is expected to take into account everything about Culley and the coaches' performance and how they operated in a difficult rebuilding situation with an overhauled roster.
“I didn't feel like we won enough ballgames,” Culley said. “ I feel like we needed to win some more ballgames. I thought there were some ballgames that we had that we could have won that we didn't win. Basically, I'm just looking forward to this offseason and moving forward.”
Should the Texans move on from Culley, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels could emerge as a top potential candidate to replace him. McDaniels, if he decides to leave New England, could be a strong head coaching candidate for multiple potential vacancies based on his track record and his success developing Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones.
However, multiple league sources expressed skepticism Sunday when asked if McDaniels will leave the Patriots for any job at this time, including the Texans.
An emerging young coach highly regarded in league circles is Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo.
The Texans finished with an identical amount of wins last year under former coach and general manager Bill O'Brien, who was fired after an 0-4 start and is now the Alabama offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and set to interview for the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coaching position, and Romeo Crennel, who finished 4-8 last season as the interim coach and is now the Texans' senior advisor of football performance.
A career assistant who previously worked for Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh as assistant head coach, passing game coordinator and receivers coach and an assistant coach under Andy Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, Culley has earned respect for his leadership.
“I feel like he is a great guy,” Texans defensive tackle Maliek Collins said. “He is the same guy every day. He is consistent. That's what you want in a head coach. That's what you want in a leader of men.”
Texans rookie wide receiver Nico Collins also expressed strong support for Cully’s possible return.
“The season didn't go as we wanted to, but Culley is a great coach, man,” Collins said. “ We love him. He brings the juice. He picks us up when we're down. He is a great coach. I love him a lot. I appreciate him, everything he did this year and looking for the future, for sure.”
Culley has acknowledged some growing pains with game management, referencing decisions he wishes he could have back in a narrow loss to the Patriots.
"I've learned to be ahead of those things," Culley said this month. "I just feel more comfortable doing those kinds of things, and we’re growing as we go."
Rookie quarterback Davis Mills has shown a lot of potential, especially in recent weeks when he's improved his accuracy and ability to orchestrate a run-first offense while consistently connecting with standout wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
"I think he did a great job all season," said Mills, who passed for 301 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions Sunday for a 128.5 passer rating to finish the season with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and a franchise-record 2,664 passing yards to break David Carr’s record. "Obviously, he was a great leader for the team. In the game of football, ultimately it comes down to wins and losses, but he had full faith in the team and really led us well all season. I loved him as a coach and I hope he's back."
The defense, under associate head coach and defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, has excelled at creating turnovers with a plus-three turnover differential and 17 interceptions.
The Texans' up-and-down season has been overshadowed by embattled three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson's trade request that preceded Culley and general manager Nick Caserio, a former Patriots executive and top lieutenant to New England coach Bill Belichick, being hired. Watson remains on the Texans' roster and is facing 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct and 10 active criminal complaints with no charges filed at this time. The Texans are expected to attempt to trade him in the offseason after nearly dealing him to the Miami Dolphins at the NFL trade deadline.
Culley has displayed no hesitation to impose discipline, including deactivating the following players for disciplinary reasons: safety Justin Reid, former linebacker Zach Cunningham, released after multiple violations of team rules and now playing for Tennessee and former Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel, and cornerback Desmond King.
The Texans released Cunningham after he showed up late for a mandatory COVID-19 test.
"We have standards and I didn’t feel like those standards have been met consistently,” Culley said. “I felt like I made a decision that was best for the team. This is about the team. This isn’t about any individuals. It wasn’t tough at all. It’s about the team. It’s not about any individual player. The one thing we always talk about is that it’s not necessarily trying to be the best player on the team but being the best player for the team. That’s our motto.
"Well, I got a locker room full of players in there that understand what our standard is. We preach it all the time. When guys aren’t going to those standards, they are looking at me cross-eyed when I am not practicing what I preach. He didn’t follow what we needed to get done and I made the move.”
Culley addressed some of the adjustments he's had to make in dealing with players' issues as well as the big picture involved in being a head coach after being a career assistant.
“Probably the big thing is just the psyche of the players," Culley said Friday. "Some of the things you’re having to deal with with the players that’s not in that manual that you get when you first get this job. But for the most part, it’s just about the stuff that you deal with that’s really not directly football-related but may have something to do with a player off the field or with a player personally.
"Those kinds of things have been some things that I’ve dealt with. Now, I’ve dealt with those things as an assistant coach but at a smaller scale. But here, it’s a bigger scale. Plus, it’s more of it.”
When the Texans hired Culley a year ago and signed him to a five-year contract with the first two years guaranteed, they did so knowing he didn’t have the background running an entire team. They like the intangibles of the folksy Tennessee native.
“I’m not real sure about that,” Culley said when asked for his understanding of why he was hired over other candidates, including Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. “All I know is I feel like they made the right choice.”
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