Firing Coach David Culley: Would It Help Texans? Would it Be 'Fair'?

One of the challenges in judging the work of Culley is about expectations and obstacles overcome. And that's where the issue of "fair'' and "right'' comes in.

From everything we hear, the Houston Texans should be expected to retain first-year coach David Culley for the 2022 season.

But until next Monday - the day after the final Sunday of the NFL regular season - comes and goes? There will be understandable speculation, like that of Houston radio talk-show host Landry Locker, who wrote on Monday - in introducing Culley guesting on SportsRadio 610 - that he is "heading into the end of the 2021 season and perhaps his final game as head coach of the Houston Texans.''

One of the challenges in judging the work of Culley is about expectations and obstacles overcome. And that's where the issue of "fair'' and "right'' comes in.

Culley, 66, has posted a 4–12 record in his first year with Houston as the Texans prepare to conclude their season with a Sunday Week 18 visit from the Titans.

This is his first head-coaching job after previously having worked 27 seasons as an assistant across the NFL.

The Texans finished 4–12 last year and fired coach Bill O'Brien, turning to Culley and new GM Nick Caserio for fresh leadership. But their tenure began with turmoil as the team's star quarterback Deshaun Watson first asked for a trade (and will likely get one this offseason) and then became embroiled in controversy that still has him facing 22 civil suits and 10 criminal complaints alleging sexual assault or sexual misconduct during sessions with various massage therapists in the Houston area.

As a result, Culley has been left to focus mostly on "discipline'' while working without his franchise player and with a weak roster. When he reflects on a loss like Sunday's at San Francisco by saying, "We were the enemy,'' he is telling a truth about where this roster is in its development. 

There are surely reasons for some people to want more change; those people include aspiring head coaches and their agents. And there are surely reasons for media people to responsibly speculate about change, as this franchise has spent too long in the ditch. But the most likely truth about David Culley in Houston is that he was "hired to be fired'' as a bridge to a successful successor.

And the reason not to fire him now is because the other side of that bridge really isn't yet in sight.