HOUSTON – Before all the trades, reports about his future and the hiring of coach David Culley spoke, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was asked what he was looking for in his next head coach.
“I mean, we just need a whole culture shift,” Watson said earlier this month. “We just need new energy. We need discipline, we need structure, we need a leader so that we can follow that leader as players. That is what we need. We need to love not just a football game, because that is what we do, but the love for people and the people in this group. “
“We need someone to stand tall and [says] this is who we are following and this is how it goes … and we are going to do it like this to win. “
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who hired Culley in 2019 as assistant head coach, said he was respected “as a teacher, game designer and as an inspiration.” Culley is the first Black head coach hired by the Texans and the first in the NFL recruiting circle.
By hiring Culley, the Texans are hoping to find that person to build the foundation Watson wanted. But will Culley get the chance to coach Watson? The star quarterback has formally requested a trade Thursday.
To most Texans fans, Culley’s name is not very familiar. So who is he and why did Texans CEO Cal McNair and general manager Nick Caserio choose him as the franchise’s next coach?
Who is David Culley?
Culley, 65, has spent the last two seasons in Baltimore as the Ravens ’assistant head coach, passing game coordinator and wide receiver coach. He has just completed his 27th season as an NFL coach after 16 seasons in various college coaching careers. He will be the oldest coach in NFL history during his first coach.
Culley has never been an offensive coordinator at the NFL level, but has been an assistant head coach before serving a stop in Baltimore, for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens were the first offense in 2020, as they led the NFL in rush gardens and ranked last in passing yards.
What does this mean for Deshaun Watson?
This is perhaps the most important question and by calling for a trade, Watson has put the ball in the Texans court.
While the Texans could agree to trade deals with another team before the start of the new league year on March 17, trading cannot be executed until then. The main timeframe for attention is before the NFL draft in April, because if the Texans were to trade Watson, they would want to make sure they get a 2021 capital draft, when the selected slots are locked. into.
Watson has a non-trading clause in his contract. This means Watson has an important voice in his destiny, as he could choose not to skip the clause.
Any trade of Watson carries a cost of $ 5.6 million in dead money for the Texans. Due to the way his contract is structured (he is technically in the final year of his rookie contract, before the start of his four-year contract extension), his cap cost for 2021 is only $ 15.94 million . By comparison, that number jumps to $ 40.4 million in 2022.
What will it take to Houston?
The Texans are very much about repairing the culture of the group and believe Culley is the man to do it.
After a second interview with the Texans – this time in person – the team enjoyed Culley ‘s energy and believes he has NFL experience to deliver that cultural movement within the building, even if he doesn’t. he had been a coordinator.
“The thing that would stress me about Coach Culley is, more than anything, an amazing teacher and communicator,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh in 2019. ” Probably the best – I’d say he’s just the best teacher. , a communicator I saw coaching football one-on-one, not just because he coaches it so well, but because he’s so consistent and coaches the stuff important. “
“You can be non-stop, but if you coach things that don’t matter, that’s just a lot of hot air. He coaches the things that matter, and you see the boys get better at it. -all the day within its setting. “
McNair knew he wanted his general manager to be ahead of the coaching investigation. That’s Caserio, who said the character he was looking for most in a head coach was their ability to “lead people.”
“Because in the end, football is fun but it’s about people, right?” Caserio said. “You have to invest in people. You have to be able to lead people. … Those are some of the things that will be important in terms of whether or not they are a good player on their side of the ball. .. But whoever it is, there will be some potential in some areas. “
What now in Houston?
Watson put up the best numbers of his junior career in 2020, with the team winning just four games. The Houston defense had a problem, finishing 30th in DVOA with Football Outsiders pressure. Of course, there are still a lot of holes on defense that didn’t have young difference makers, so anyone who hires Culley as a defense coordinator will have a high job ahead of them.
Regardless of whether the Texans trade Watson, those holes will still be on the roster. The Texans ’first choice in this version is No. 67, so they won’t be able to add influential talent at a team-friendly price, and are currently $ 18 million over the 2021 salary cup that is in the future (although that’s less than the money. they’ve already promised, which gives them some flexibility).
If Houston trades Watson, he will be able to put pieces on the defense and upgrade that side of the ball significantly, but then a quarterback still has questions.