Ravens assistant coach David Culley will interview for Texans head coach vacancy

The Baltimore Ravens received their first head coach interview request on Monday and it surprisingly wasn’t for either of their offensive or defensive coordinators who were popular names in last year’s coaching carousel.

Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh confirmed with reporters that David Culley will interview for the Houston Texans’ head coach vacancy.

Culley joined the Baltimore Ravens staff in 2019 and has served as the assistant head coach, wide receivers coach and the pass-game coordinator.

His resume as an NFL coach includes working with some of the most notable names at the quarterback and wide receiver positions such as Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and both Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill of the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in the early stages of their careers.

From 2013-2016 he served as the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach under Andy Reid in Kansas City and then spent two years in Buffalo as the quarterbacks coach.

In his first year on the job in Baltimore he design a passing attack that helped Lamar Jackson get the most out of limited passing opportunities. Under the tutelage of Culley and others, Jackson was able to lead the league in passing touchdowns in 2019 with 36 despite being ranked almost dead last in attempts among qualifying quarterbacks.

After the Ravens playoff win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday Harbaugh was asked about the situation with Culley. He stated that although it is a great opportunity for the Ravens’ wide receiver coach, Culley is still “100%” focused on the upcoming divisional tilt against Allen and the Bills.

“But he is excited about it. It’s obviously a great job, a great opportunity there,” Harbaugh said. “They’ve got a heck of an organization. I do believe that David Culley would be a tremendous hire for any team, and maybe especially the Texans with Deshaun Watson.”

Culley is looking to take over the reins of a struggling Texans team that posted a record of 4-12 in the 2020. With key offensive weapons such as Watson, wide receiver Brandon Cooks and potentially Will Fuller if he is brought back and key defensive pieces such as defensive end JJ Watt and inside linebackers Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney, Houston has talent to work with.

If hired, Culley will join newly hired General Manager Nick Caserio, formerly of the New England Patriots, in what could be quite the rebuild with not a lot of resources to work with in terms of draft capital and cap space.

Although the Ravens finished the 2020 regular season with the 32nd ranked passing offense in yards, attempts, and completions Culley’s impact on such a young receiver core has been underrated.

In 2020 Lamar Jackson finished with a 99.3 passer rating (11th best) which isn’t that far off from his 113.3 rating (third best) in 2019 following his MVP winning campaign.

It is hard to judge a coach’s impact on a passing attack when the Ravens’ rush attack is putting up historic numbers on what seems like a weekly basis and is leading the NFL in rushing yards and attempts.

Baltimore wide receivers coach David Culley talks with Seth Roberts during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD on Aug. 8, 2019. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com

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Jarrod Schmitz

Jarrod Schmitz Business Major and Pitcher at Marymount University Raven's enthusiast

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