Culley confident Kelly will return
Texans coach David Culley said two notable things about the state of the team’s offense as the offseason approaches: the coaching staff knows “exactly what we want to do” in terms of adjusting the scheme after nearing franchise lows in multiple offensive categories, and Culley “100 percent” expects offensive coordinator Tim Kelly will be retained for the 2022 season.
Coordinators usually don’t keep their jobs after their offenses produce such futile results, which made Culley’s definitive statement about Kelly significant. Culley has strongly defended Kelly as the team’s play-caller twice this season, and Friday’s endorsement was yet another example that Culley believes Kelly is the right coach to build the type of offensive scheme Culley wants.
Kelly has said Culley “made it very clear” from the moment Kelly first interviewed with Culley that the first-time NFL head coach wanted to “make sure we had a very tough and physical football team” centered on running the ball. Even with all the struggles the Texans had with a run game that averages the NFL’S fewest yards per rush (3.4), Culley was emphatic that he still wants to pursue that kind of offense next season.
“We still want to do the same things that I came here and said we were going to do,” Culley said. “We’ve just got to do a better job of coaching it, and we’re going to add some more pieces to make it better.”
The lack of talent on Houston’s overhauled roster perhaps is the strongest defense for the offense’s insufficient results under Kelly this season. It isn’t likely the Texans would have fared much better with any other offensive philosophy Culley pursued. But Culley has chosen their direction, and the budding development of rookie quarterback Davis Mills has shown promise that the run-oriented system can work with the right players in place.
“We just want to get other players in here that we feel like will fit what we want to do,” Culley said. “Obviously, there’s going to be some changes. We’re just going to have to wait and see what kind of changes we’re going to make with the guys that are leaving and see what we have to do to replace those guys. We want to be better. We want to get better.”
Of course, Culley isn’t the only one involved in such decisions. After Sunday’s regular season finale against the Titans, firstyear general manager Nick Caserio will be entering Year 2 of the franchise’s rebuild. With a full stock of draft picks plus free agency, the Texans executive will want to have faith in a coordinator who can build the appropriate scheme around new additions.
Culley, who is expected to return as coach in 2022, may have said Kelly also will be back with such certainty because Caserio already has signed off on the decision. Although a game still remains before the season officially is over, teams generally already have an idea by this point of how they’ll sort things out in the offseason. If Kelly eventually is fired, that would be some blatant dissonance when paired with Culley’s firm statement.
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The Texans already are prepared to undergo yet another major roster overhaul. There are 34 players whose contracts expire when the season concludes, and it’s likely the majority of them will not be retained. The team has obvious needs on the offensive line and at running back, and, by keeping schematic continuity with Kelly, the Texans can enter the offseason with a clear picture of what personnel they’d need when they go free agent shopping in March.
How thrifty can the Texans be? Their cap space for 2022, which is diminished by an Nfl-leading $35.4 million hit in dead money, ranks 14th in the NFL. That could be cleared significantly if their largest cap hits — quarterback Deshaun Watson ($40.4 million) and left tackle Laremy Tunsil ($26.2 million) — are traded.
Such trades also could yield significant draft capital. The Texans already are within range of the No. 3 overall pick and could pursue available offensive linemen and running backs throughout the draft to address their needs.
“We do have a plan,” Culley said. “We know exactly what we want to do.”
49ers 23, Texans 7. 4-12. vs. Titans, noon. CBS; 760 AM.