Should The Texans Keep Or Cut David Culley?

As Black Monday fast approaches, Nick Caserio has a pretty big decision to make. While that decision will most likely carry influence from Jack Easterby and Cal McNair--two people who have no more expertise in selecting NFL head coaches than you or I—we need to understand that it is what it is.

Rumors first swirled that Houston could part ways with head coaching patsy David Culley before the Los Angeles Chargers game two weeks ago. But Culley led the biggest over-performance of the year and defeated the illness-riddled Chargers 41-29.

Would he have been fired =if the score was reversed? We may never know.

The latest rumor to hit the streets states that Caserio intends on keeping Culley around for another season.

For some, myself included, keeping Culley for another go ‘round seems like yet another ridiculous mistake by what might prove to be the single most incompetent front office in NFL history. For others, this makes all the sense in the world, as this team still has a ways to go before they can even think about returning to the Bill O’Brien led Texans’ level, much less be considered championship material.

A general manager and head coach have a symbiotic relationship. They must both work together for the greater good of the team. A head coach provides the overall scheme, often by way of his coordinators. Zone running, Erhardt-Perkins, West Coast, whatever. The scheme will dictate the type of player needed for the team to succeed. For example, if you load a zone running scheme with power run blockers, you won’t exactly have great success in the run game...as we’ve all seen. Especially if you then insist on running through the A-gap on every first down.

If you load a 4-3 defense with 3-4 linebackers, again, you’re not going to have great success. At this juncture, it’s pretty obvious that the David Culley led, Tim Kelly called, leftover Bill O’Brien bastardized Erhardt-Perkins system isn’t a winning combination.

(This is the same John McClain who stated Deshaun Watson was FOR SURE getting traded prior to the NFL trade deadline, so take the tweet with a grain of salt.)

The general manager needs to provide the players that can succeed in the head coach’s scheme, but when that scheme doesn’t work, it’s time to get a new head coach who brings a winning scheme. If Caserio keeps Culley for 2022, all the draft picks, free agent acquisitions, player re-signings, etc. are simply moving deck chairs on the Titanic. If you and I can figure that out, you can bet NFL agents and players know it as well.

Ergo, keeping Culley sends the message that the 2022 Houston Texans are not committed to winning. As we’ve said before, no young athlete grows up wishing they could join a team that doesn’t care about winning the big one. That brings us to this week’s poll:

Should the Houston Texans fire David Culley, or should they keep him for another season?

Have a compelling reason for your vote? Let’s discuss.