Ravens' David Culley Reportedly Agrees on 5-Year Texans Contract to Become HC

Baltimore Ravens assistant head coach David Culley has reportedly agreed to terms to become the next head coach of the Houston Texans. 

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported the agreement on Thursday after he, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo had the initial report that the two sides were nearing a deal. 

Tim Kelly will reportedly remain with the team as offensive coordinator:

Pelissero and Garafolo further reported the Texans are looking to add Lovie Smith and Josh McCown as assistants and is working to move quickly as to build out its coaching staff. McCown, who served as a backup QB to Deshaun Watson this year, was previously under consideration for the head coach job.

The Texans fired Bill O'Brien, who was serving as both the franchise's general manager and head coach, in October after a 0-4 start to the 2020 season. They finished the campaign 4-12.

Houston opted to split the duties once held by O'Brien. Longtime New England Patriots executive Nick Caserio was hired as the team's new GM in early January. Caserio had served as the Pats' director of player personnel since 2008 after joining the club in 2001.

That hire led to tension between the organization and star quarterback Deshaun Watson, who became the focus of offseason trade rumors.

O'Brien guided the Texans to a 52-48 record with four playoff appearances across six-plus years as head coach. The team didn't advance beyond the divisional round of the postseason, though.

Although Houston made the playoffs in both 2018 and 2019, criticism began to mount on the former Penn State head coach after the team blew a 24-0 lead to get eliminated from the postseason last year by the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

It reached a fever pitch after he traded superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals during the subsequent offseason, and the club's sluggish start to the 2020 season led to a quick exit despite the prior success.

Although the Texans are coming off a down year, the head coaching job still carried plenty of intrigue with a franchise quarterback in Watson already in place, at least for now.

However, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Thursday that Watson has officially requested a trade and did so "weeks ago," prior to Culley's hiring.

Culley, 65, isn't a household name having never worked as a head coach or coordinator at the NFL level, but he's compiled over 40 years as an assistant between the collegiate and pro levels. It's a journey that began as a running backs coach at Austin Peay in 1978.

He most recently served as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach for the Ravens since 2019. He's also spent time with the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers since arriving to the NFL in 1994.

Now he'll put that wealth of experience to work with the Texans as the franchise seeks a quick turnaround.