HOUSTON – Before the entire commercial talk, they were briefed on their future and the hiring of coach David Culley, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was asked what he was looking for in his next coach.
“I mean, we just need a whole cultural change,” Watson said earlier this month. “We just need new energy. We need discipline, we need structure, we need a leader to be able to follow him as a player. That’s what we need. We need to have the love not just of the game of football, because that’s what we do, but love for the people and people of this organization. “
“We need someone tall and tall [says] this is who we follow and so it continues … and we will do so to win “.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who hired Culley in 2019 as assistant head coach, said he was respected “as a teacher, game planner and motivator.” Culley is the first black coach hired by the Texans and the first in the NFL’s hiring cycle.
By hiring Culley, the Texans hope to have found that person to build the foundations for which Watson asked. But will Culley have a chance to coach Watson? The star quarterback has formally requested an operation on Thursday.
For most jeans fans, Culley’s name is unfamiliar. So who is he and why did Texans general manager Cal McNair and general manager Nick Caserio choose him to be the next coach in the franchise?
Who is David Culley?
Culley, 65, has spent the last two seasons in Baltimore as the Ravens’ assistant coach, game coordinator and receiving coach. He has just finished his 27th season as NFL coach after 16 seasons in various college coaching roles. He will be the oldest coach in NFL history at the time of his debut as head coach.
Culley has never been an offensive coordinator at the NFL level, but has been an assistant coach before his stint in Baltimore, for the Kansas City bosses. The Ravens were a first offense in 2020, as they led the NFL in rushing yards and finished last in passing yards.
What does this mean for Deshaun Watson?
This is perhaps the most important issue and in requesting an operation, Watson has put the ball on the field of the jeans.
While the Texans could agree to negotiate terms with another team before the start of the new league year on March 17, no transaction will be able to run until then. The key time frame to pay attention to is before the NFL draft in April, because if the Texans traded with Watson, they would want to make sure they get draft capital by 2021, when the chosen slots are in place. blocked.
Watson has a trade clause in the contract. This means that Watson has an important word in his destiny, because he could choose not to give up the clause.
Any Watson trade will have a $ 5.6 million dead money charge for the Texans. Due to the way his contract is structured (technically he is in the last year of his rookie contract, before his four-year extension begins), his maximum charge for 2021 is only 15, $ 94 million. In comparison, that number rises to $ 40.4 million in 2022.
What does it bring to Houston?
The Texans look seriously at fixing the organization’s culture and believe that Culley is the person who does it.
After doing a second interview with the Texans, this time in person, the team was impressed by Culley’s energy and believes he has the NFL experience to make that cultural change within the building, even all if he has not been a coordinator.
“What would stand out about Coach Culley, more than anything, is what he’s an amazing teacher and communicator,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said in 2019. “He’s probably the best, I’d say he’s the best. best direct teacher, “communicator I’ve seen coaching one-on-one football, not only because he coaches it so well, but because he’s very relentless and directs important things.”
“You can be relentless, but if you’re training things that don’t matter, it’s just a lot of hot air. He’s training things that matter and you see the guys getting better every day within his group of positions.”
McNair knew he wanted his general manager to take the lead in the search for a coach. It’s Caserio, who said the most sought-after feature in a head coach was the ability to “lead people”.
“Because in the end, football is a sport but it’s about people, right?” Caserio said. “You have to make an investment in people. You have to be able to lead people. … These are some of the things that will be important in relation to whether or not they are a good player on their respective side of the ball. But who that is, it will have some competence in some area. “
What will happen next in Houston?
Watson achieved the best numbers of his young career in 2020 and the team only won four games. The Houston defense fought and finished 30th in the Football Outsiders weighted DVOA. Of course, there are still a lot of holes in a defense that had no young creators of differences, so whoever hires Culley as a defensive coordinator will have a big task ahead of them.
Regardless of whether the jeans change Watson, those holes on the list will remain. The first selection of jeans in this draft is number 67, so they will not be able to add impact talent at a suitable price for the team and are currently $ 18 million above the 2021 salary cap (all and that this matters less than cash) have already been committed, which gives them some flexibility).
If Houston changes Watson, he will be able to incorporate pieces into the defense and improve that side of the ball significantly, but questions will remain with the quarterback.