Tag: Texans coaching

Lovie Smith considers it ‘an honor’ to be on coach David Culley’s Texans’ staff

New Houston Texans defensive coordinator Lovie Smith considers it “an honor” to be on the staff of coach David Culley.

The Houston Texans surprised the football world when they hired Baltimore Ravens receivers coach and passing game coordinator David Culley as their fourth full-time coach in team history.

The surprise came from the fact Culley, 65, had never been a coordinator at any point in his 28 seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL. After nearly 30 years coaching positions, the Texans were going to entrust Culley with the top job on the sidelines.

For Lovie Smith, who had been the coach of the Chicago Bears from 2004-12 and led the NFC North club to a Super Bowl appearance at the end of the 2006 campaign, it was Culley’s demeanor that won him over.

“Wasn’t really a big sell job that David had to do,” Smith told reporters via Zoom on April 8. “I thought it was an honor to be a part of his first staff. He’s going to do great things here. The players are going to really love him and every coach that came on board kind of feels the same way.”

When Smith met with Culley, he had the feeling that one of the “good men” would be leading the Texans.

Said Smith: “It’s a genuine feeling that you get that number one, this is one of the good men leading an organization and that influences what will go down from the top down. I’ve known David a long period of time and how I knew him was an excellent — his primary expertise early on of course was with the receiver position, and you just look at the guys that he’s put out. When you do well with a small group, you get more. That’s what’s happened with David. You want a guy like that to have an opportunity to lead his own team, so that’s what we’re going to see.”

For Smith, this will be the first time since 2003 with the St. Louis Rams that he will be a defensive coordinator.

Texans hire former Campbell WR coach Ben Bolling as defensive assistant

The Houston Texans have hired former Campbell University receivers coach Ben Bolling as a defensive assistant.

The Houston Texans have hired a defensive assistant to help out with new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans hired former Campbell University receivers coach Ben Bolling as a defensive assistant for the 2021 staff.

All Bolling has known is Campbell. From 2011-15, he played receiver for the Camels, catching 100 passes for 1,329 yards and eight touchdowns. Bolling then stayed around as an assistant coach, serving in various capacities from safeties coach, defensive quality control, co-special teams coordinator, assistant strength and conditioning, and even recruiting coordinator.

A Knightdale High School alumnus from Knightdale, North Carolina, Bolling left as his high school’s all-time leader in passing yards (3,557), career touchdowns (40) and career total yards (5,191). Bolling also lettered in track and field along with basketball and football.

Why the Texans should say no to Panthers OC Joe Brady as a coaching candidate

The Houston Texans need to look for young, fresh ideas when evaluating a coaching candidate, but the Carolina Panthers’ Joe Brady may be too green.

The Houston Texans are casting a broad net to determine who should be their fourth full-time coach in franchise history.

With quarterback Deshaun Watson locked up through the 2025 season, the Texans don’t need to take a proven veteran; they can afford to get a coach with young, fresh ideas to get the most out of the three-time Pro Bowler.

One name they need to avoid is Joe Brady, offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. It isn’t so much that Brady is bad at his job. Though the Panthers are 5-10, Carolina is tied with the Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers for the 13th-highest yards per play at 5.7. Consider Brady has had stability at quarterback with Teddy Bridgewater starting 14 games, but he has benefited from running back Christian McCaffrey’s unique skill in just three games.

Brady has had to get creative, and the Panthers’ wins against the Cardinals in Week 4 and at Washington in Week 16 are impressive given these teams are on the verge of playoff qualification.

Why the Texans need to move along when it comes to Brady is his inexperience. He is 31 years old, which isn’t a deficit. However, in his seven years of being in the real world, he’s coached positions (linebackers, William & Mary, 2013-14), has been a graduate assistant (Penn State, 2015-16), an offensive assistant (LSU, 2017-18). To his credit, Brady worked his way up to become the LSU Tigers’ passing game coordinator in 2019, and a national championship shows how great of an investment that was to hire from within.

Brady has never run a team; he has run positions or units at best. As the Texans’ coach, he would have to oversee the entire operation, not pigeonhole with the passing game. Naturally, there would be some growing pains in giving Brady the full-time job. Can the Texans really afford to waste another season of Watson’s prime so a promising yet callow coach can adapt to the NFL?

The only way Brady could have success would be to surround him with an experienced staff. Take a look at Sean McVay when he debuted with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. Of course McVay, who had zero experience running a complete football team, could fixate on the offense — he had Wade Phillips, one of the greatest defensive assistants in the past 30 years, as his defensive coordinator, John Fassel as his special teams coach, and Joe Barry, a Super Bowl-winning assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Rams went from Jeff Fisher to Super Bowl contender in two seasons, but they had a very experienced coaching staff. Houston could take that chance with Brady, but they better ensure he has coaching elders he can rely on.

Texans interim coach Romeo Crennel will decide future at the end of the season

Houston Texans interim coach Romeo Crennel says he will decide on his future when the 2020 regular season officially concludes after Week 17.

Romeo Crennel has not been pleased with the results of his stint as interim coach for the Houston Texans.

“It hasn’t been good enough because we didn’t win,” Crennel said. “We came close on several opportunities and we didn’t make the plays to win. In this business, it’s did you win or did you lose? So, I haven’t won enough.”

Crennel took over for Bill O’Brien, who was fired as coach and general manager on Oct. 5. The Texans were 0-4, but Crennel’s insertion helped Houston find their first win of the season in a 30-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium.

In Crennel’s 11 games with the Texans, they have gone 4-7. Five of those losses were one-score games. If the Texans were able to close them out, they would be sitting 9-6 and part of the playoff conversation, not a tune-up game for the Tennessee Titans in Week 17 at NRG Stadium.

The 73-year-old, who has won five Super Bowls as an assistant coach or defensive coordinator, is part of the O’Brien era. Though he thought of very highly in the organization, the new staff may want to go in another direction.

“At the end of the season, which is getting a lot closer now, I’m going to sit down and evaluate to see what options I have and maybe what I want to do from this point forward,” Crennel said.

Texans S Justin Reid is ‘rooting’ for Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy

Texans S Justin Reid has been following Eric Bieniemy’s career and says he would be a fan of his regardless of where he landed, especially Houston.

Houston Texans safety Justin Reid has a coach he is rooting for the NFL.

The third-year veteran from Stanford was asked about his thoughts on the NFL’s efforts to improve diversity among the general manager and coaching ranks, and Reid dropped a name he has been following.

“I think they’re good hearted,” Reid said. “The Rooney Rule is cool, giving a team a third-round draft pick for hiring a GM or a head coach. I think it’s good spirited. I think at the end of the day it’s just going to come down to good coaches are going to find positions. I’m rooting for Eric Bieniemy, whether he’s here or somewhere else.”

The Texans currently have a vacancy after the firing of coach Bill O’Brien on Oct. 5. Interim coach Romeo Crennel has produced a 4-3 record, improving Houston’s lot to 4-7 on the season with five games to go.

Though Crennel is undoubtedly beloved by Reid and the rest of the team, the former 2018 third-round pick still holds Bieniemy in high regard.

“I follow his career a lot,” said Reid. “I think he’s a phenomenal coach. I would love to have him here, but he’d be happy anywhere, too.”

One of the bigger shocks of the 2020 offseason was how Bieniemy, who was an integral part of the Kansas City Chiefs winning the Super Bowl as he was their offensive coordinator, did not get a coaching gig.

With Houston, Atlanta, and Detroit already with coaching vacancies, there is no question Bieniemy will have his pick of where he wants to coach. Wherever he lands, Bieniemy will always have a backer in Reid.

Report: Bill O’Brien lost the team after Texans’ 33-16 loss to the Ravens

Former Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien may have lost the team after the club’s 33-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2.

Former Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien may have lost the team after the club’s 33-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2.

According to Dianna Russini of ESPN, the offense was frustrated with the lack of production through the first two weeks, even resulting in what Russini referred to as a “verbal blowup” in practice.

In the Ravens game, the Texans’ offense managed 304 yards of total offense. Quarterback Deshaun Watson completed 25-of-36 for 275 yards, but the production wasn’t there in terms of points with just one touchdown and an interception. The run game was anemic with 11 carries for 34 yards from running back David Johnson, and just five carries for 17 yards from Watson.

One of the more puzzling decisions from the loss that sent Houston to 0-2 on the season for the third time in the O’Brien era was his decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Houston 34-yard line with two seconds left in the first quarter. Instead of punting, O’Brien wanted to steal a possession. Instead, Watson threw an incomplete pass off the heels of tight end Darren Fells.

“We had a 4-and-one early in the game and then the game was changed a little bit,” O’Brien explained. “We punted that one and then they went down and kicked a field goal, but they possessed the ball. So again, we felt like we needed possessions in the game, so we decided to go for it. We put a play out there, they called timeout, we changed the play. The play didn’t work and so we didn’t convert it. But that’s just the way it works. They did a better job than us on that and we just need to work hard to improve.”

The Texans will have to find a way to improve their 0-4 record as O’Brien was dismissed Monday following 100 regular season games with the club, compiling a 52-48 record along with a 2-4 mark in the playoffs.

[vertical-gallery id=54626]