The Houston Texans made history on Jan. 29 when they introduced David Culley as the first Black full-time head coach in franchise history.
While Culley said he believes he got the job on his own merits from having been a position coach in the NFL since 1994, the 65-year-old also acknowledges that the situation with hiring minority head coaches could be improving.
“Do we need to have that to happen more? Yes, and it’s happening,” Culley said. “It’s happening. I feel like, again, that’s not why I’m here. I’m here simply because they felt like I’m the best fit for this organization, and for all that you have been reading about with the minority hires and those kinds of things, throughout the league, I think the league is doing a great job. I think the franchises, and everybody is doing a wonderful job of trying to get that to happen.”
In the last week of the Texans’ coaching search, it became clear the team was almost certain to hire a minority coach, as the only other finalist was Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. Houston also conducted an interview with Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
Of the seven NFL head coaching changes after the 2020 season, two were filled by minority candidates: the Texans with Culley and the New York Jets with former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
On the general manager front, while the Texans went with Nick Caserio, three of the NFL’s seven front office boss vacancies were filled by minorities: Terry Fontenot with the Atlanta Falcons, Brad Holmes with the Detroit Lions and Martin Mayhew, a former Texans candidate, with Washington.
Nonetheless, Culley believes the NFL is doing its best to give minorities a chance to succeed on the sidelines and in front offices.
Said Culley: “I know that the league is doing everything that they can and everybody involved to make that happen.”
The Texans and Dolphins currently are the only two NFL teams with a minority coach and a minority starting quarterback.
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