So former Ravens Assistant Head Coach/Pass Coordinator/Wide Receivers (quite a title, eh?) is now the new head coach for the Houston Texans. Many of you are probably wondering how a guy responsible for the Ravens passing game, you know, the one that ranked 32nd in the NFL, would even be considered for the position.
WRs who earned 80+ PFF grade under new Texans HC David Culley:
🔹 Eagles 2006-2012: 0
🔹 Chiefs 2013-2016: 0
🔹 Ravens 2019-2020: 0 pic.twitter.com/AEAotOMNwK— PFF (@PFF) January 28, 2021
According to most who know Culley, he’s respected, a great communicator and well-liked by players and his colleagues. It is said that he’ll bring a calming influence to an organization in a chaotic state.
A few thoughts on this one…
* Congrats to the 65-year-old Culley who has been in coaching since 1978 when he was the running backs coach at Austin Peay. The Sparta, TN native has never been a head coach at any level and he’s only held the position of offensive coordinator once, back in 1989-90 at Texas El Paso. Culley becomes the third eldest statesman to skipper an NFL sideline, behind Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick who are both 68.
* The Texans are a mess! The cupboard that stores draft capital is pretty barren and their franchise quarterback wants out of Houston as badly as a pent up raging bull wants out of his pen after catching the scent of a herd of cows in heat. The ownership is in full-throttle damage control mode and the long-standing face of the franchise, J.J. Watt, seems like he’s ready for the exit, stage left.
* Of course, the best news for the Ravens and their fans is that the hiring of Culley by the Texans triggers a windfall of draft capital for Eric DeCosta. Back in November, the NFL approved a plan to encourage teams to foster the development of minority coaches by offering compensatory picks if a team were to lose a minority coach hired by another franchise to be their head coach.
[Related Article: Will Fans Return to M&T in 2021?]
A team that loses a minority assistant coach who becomes a head coach or loses a personnel executive who becomes a general manager will receive third-round compensatory picks in each of the next two drafts.
I doubt that the authors of this plan intended it for a coach that is eligible to draw on his social security, but at the end of the day, the Ravens get back the 3rd-round pick they sacrificed for the relatively disappointing Yannick Ngakoue. And they get another 3rd-round comp in 2022 to boot!
Somewhere in Mobile, Alabama, DeCosta is sporting an indelible ear-to-ear smile.
Photo Courtesy of The Baltimore Ravens
