New staff coming from far and near
Coaches connected to Culley, Caserio mix with holdovers
When the Texans hired David Culley as their new head coach, he explained what he envisioned from his staff of assistants.
“We will look at people that we believe are going to be teachers and high-energy people,” Culley said. “It’s going to be a process.”
When Culley officially signed his five-year contract, new general manager Nick Caserio echoed that sentiment about the hiring process for the assistant coaches.
“It’s going to take a lot of work,” Caserio said. “We’re not going to accomplish everything at one time. We’re going to put in some building blocks and develop a program. The one constant in the NFL is change. Every year, you have to embrace change.”
Roughly two weeks after Culley was introduced during a news conference at NRG Stadium, the majority of the coaching staff is in place.
The last major hire was veteran offensive line coach James Campen, who signed a three-year contract Tuesday, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.
A longtime former Green Bay Packers offensive line coach who coached the Los Angeles Chargers’ O-line last season and the Cleveland Browns’ line two seasons ago while also serving as their associate head coach, Campen played center in the NFL for eight seasons for Green Bay and the New Orleans Saints.
Campen was the Packers’ primary offensive line coach for 10 years following stints as a quality control and assistant offensive line coach. The former undrafted free agent from Tulane was promoted to offensive line coach/run game coordinator in 2018, his final season in Green Bay.
“Incredible hire. His players love James Campen,” a league source said. “Great coach, great guy. Relatable. I can’t say enough good things about the guy.”
Although the majority of the staff hasn’t worked together before — a few coaches, including offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, were retained — there are some connections.
Campen coached last season for the Chargers under Anthony Lynn, who was fired after the season, working closely with new Texans quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton. Hamilton coached strong-armed quarterback Justin Herbert, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year who passed for 4,336 yards, 31 touchdowns and 10 interception last season.
Hamilton, 46, coached retired quarterback Andrew Luck as the
Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator. He also has been the Cleveland Browns’ associate head coach and a quarterbacks coach for the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers and worked at Stanford as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
When Hamilton was at the University of Michigan as an assistant head coach and passing game coordinator, he worked with new Texans offensive assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels.
A former Michigan quarterbacks coach and receivers coach, McDaniels is a former Rutgers offensive coordinator and receivers coach. He’s the younger brother of Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who worked with Caserio and Texans executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby in New England.
Ben McDaniels was a quarterbacks coach for the Broncos’ Tim Tebow when his brother was the head coach in Denver.
New special teams coordinator Frank Ross has several ties to Caserio. The former Colts assistant special teams coach is a former Patriots scout and also was a three-time all-conference wide receiver and two-time team captain at Division III John Carroll University, where Caserio was a record-setting quarterback.
For the past three seasons at Indianapolis, Ross worked with special-teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone. In 2019, the Colts led the NFL with a franchiserecord 17.4-yard average on punt returns.
At John Carroll, Ross coached the quarterbacks and was a special-teams coordinator and running backs coach. He set a school receiving record for catches in a game and was named MVP of the 2010 Aztec Bowl, catching seven passes for 103 yards and three touchdowns.
Another connection on the Texans coaching staff comes via tight ends coach Andy Bischoff, who worked closely with Culley, a former Ravens assistant head coach, receivers coach and passing game coordinator, in Baltimore the past few seasons.
Bischoff was with the Ravens for six years, coaching Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews and one of the NFL’s top blocking tight ends in Nick Boyle.
Running backs coach Danny Barrett is a holdover from former coach/ GM Bill O’Brien’s coaching staff.
Former Detroit Lions receivers coach Robert Prince is the Texans’ new receivers coach.
On the defensive side of the football, the Texans’ staff is led by defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, a former Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Illinois head coach who will be installing a 4-3 set as the primary alignment.
Smith’s son, Miles Smith, is the new linebackers coach, with Bobby King, retained from the last coaching staff, shifting to the defensive line from inside linebackers.
Dino Vasso, a former Philadelphia Eagles assistant defensive coordinator/secondary coach, is the new defensive backs coach.