Jerry Habraken, Delaware News Journal, Delaware News Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC
The Houston Texans fired David Culley less than a year after hiring him. Josh McCown, an NFL veteran with zero coaching experience, could now be the man to replace him as head coach.
Many around the NFL were surprised in 2021 when Houston named Culley its new coach to take over for Bill O’Brien. While Culley had more than four years of coaching experience, including 20-plus years in the NFL, his last coordinator job came in 1990 with Texas El-Paso.
Fielding one of the worst rosters in the NFL, Houston surprisingly finished the season with a 4-13 record. But the Texans fired Cully, still owing him another $22 million. Now, the organization could be moving towards hiring a head coach with far less experience.
According to the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain, Josh McCown is the favorite to become Houston’s head coach and he could be hired early next week.
McCown played 19 NFL seasons, making 76 combined starts from 2002 to 2019. The lone coaching experience on his resume came as a volunteer assistant for his son’s high school football team.
The Texans interviewed him before they hired Culley in 2021, believing he had a future as an NFL head coach. With McCown ready to assume the responsibilities that come with the top coaching job in sports, Houston might be on the verge of hiring him.
Notably, per McClain, there is one voice in the Texans’ organization who seems to be leading the charge. Jack Easterby, a former team chaplain, now plays a prominent role alongside general manager Nick Caserio and McCown is reportedly Easterby’s favorite candidate.
McCown reportedly bonded with Houston’s vice president of football operations over religion, with both men sharing a devout belief in “faith, family and football.”
While there are plenty of top NFL coaching candidates still available, the Texans seem to be heavily focused on the former quarterback with zero experience coaching professional athletes and who hasn’t drawn interest from any other NFL teams.