The growth of Texans coach David Culley has involved paying a significant amount of dues while gaining a invaluable knowledge from accomplished head coaches.
Now a head coach for the first time in his career, Culley, 65, is leaning on what he's learned as he adapts to the responsibilities of a multi-faceted leadership position.
At Texas A&M, Culley learned from R.C. Slocum, who once called the energetic Culley "the vitamins of the building."
A former assistant head coach and receivers coach with the Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid, Culley coached the wide receivers with the Philadelphia Eagles, including managing wide receiver Terrell Owens' combustible personality.
Culley coached ultra-talented Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen as a rookie.
And Culley was a key figure as the passing game coordinator, assistant head coach and receivers coach with the Baltimore Ravens before being hired by the Texans. Working for John Harbaugh, another Super Bowl winning coach, Culley contributed to a unique offense built around the multidimensional talents of former NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Like Harbaugh, a former special teams and defensive backs coach in Philadelphia. Culley had never been a coordinator before becoming a head coach for the first time.
“Before I came here, I used to make suggestions," Culley said. "Now I’ve got to make decisions. That’s the biggest thing that has happened. That’s been fine. I knew when I got the job, I knew that was what was going to happen and wasn’t going to change. I can just remember when I used to make all those suggestions, when I made them, if they take them, good. I
"f they didn’t, that was OK, too. But that wasn’t me having to make that decision. Well, that thing has flipped now and being flipped, I understand exactly what it’s all about. I understand now when that decision is made, that decision is made because that’s what I felt like was best for the football team to do and I embrace that.”
Culley takes over a 4-12 team that has been significantly overhauled by new general manager Nick Caserio, who is intent on building a winning culture in tandem with Culley, a folksy Tennessee native.
Culley is embracing the increased responsibilities. This is the challenge that he wanted.
"I’ve been looking forward to that," he said. "I’m finally glad that I’m here to be able to make those decisions.”
The Ravens led the NFL in scoring in 2019 (33.2 points per game) and ranked seventh last season (29.3) behind an offense led by star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jackson had a 99.3 passer rating last season.
“David’s ability to relate to players and get them to play at their highest effort and understand their roles is very important,” said Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, a Hall of Fame tight end who's the architect of two Super Bowl winning rosters. “David is very demanding, and I think the guys want to do well for him. He’s a great person. When he got hired two years ago, he came down to my office and he and I talked for an hour and 15 minutes. I went and told John, ‘Why is he not a head coach?’ Having gone through coaching searches myself (Brian Billick and Harbaugh), after spending time with David, I thought he deserved to be a head coach.”
Culley is a high-energy coach known for his positive nature and deep Christian faith.
“David was like Andy Reid, always the same through adversity or great times,” said Chicago Bears offensive line coach Juan Castillo, who worked with Culley in Philadelphia. “He was able to convince guys to do the extra work. He’s always calm. He doesn’t get too excited or he doesn’t get too down. He’s about the little details, the nuances.
"He trained many of the guys with coach Reid who went on to be head coaches (Doug Pederson, Matt Nagy), training them on how to run that offense. He’ll do a great job for the Texans because he’s been ready for this and preparing for this moment for a long, long time.”
At NRG Stadium, Culley is reinforcing his reputation as a positive, high-energy coach who's all about teaching and demanding a high standard.
“It has been everything I envisioned and more," Culley said. "It’s been what I thought it would be. It’s been nonstop since I’ve taken the job here, which I knew it was going to be that way. But the beauty of it right now is that we’re actually now getting to be with our players, getting to be on the field.
"Our coaches are able to start coaching and developing with these guys our culture. Listen, that’s what we do and at this point right now, I couldn’t be more happy with where we’re at with this staff and where we are as a football team with these last two weeks that we’ve had of being on the field with these players.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 seasons, including the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128.