Getty David Culley with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008.
The Baltimore Ravens likely figured they were out of the woods in terms of losing staff members after some big moves this January, but there could be one major shoe left to drop in the coming days.
Perhaps surprisingly, Ravens’ wideout coach and assistant head coach David Culley is a finalist for the Houston Texans’ job. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Culley is one of the final names that the Texans will debate in the final days of their interview process. That process is likely to finish out sometime this week.
Rapoport said:
“They had Leslie Frazier, the Bills defensive coordinator in for a second interview. He is a big-time candidate, they like him a lot. Certainly one of the finalists here. David Culley, the Ravens assistant head coach also receivers coach. Someone who John Harbaugh has identified for years as someone who would be a great future head coach. He is also receiving a second interview in Houston. That seems to be where it stands right now. They also talked to Jim Caldwell for a second time. Expect an answer at some point this week, they are obviously not in a hurry since they are the only team without a head coach right now so it’s not like they are competing against anybody. They want to get it right.”
Culley is a qualified candidate who has paid his dues during his long time in the league, but him landing a job before Wink Martindale might be surprising considering the high-profile job Martindale has in Baltimore and what his group has accomplished over the last few seasons on the field.
Regardless, it looks as if this is what could happen when all is said and done.
David Culley Career Biography
Culley began his coaching career back in 1978 when he was the running backs coach at Austin Peay. Following bouncing around in the college ranks until 1993, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a wideout coach from 1994-1995. He coached wideouts in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Kansas City from 1996-2018, when he departed to become the Buffalo Bills’ quarterbacks coach from 2017-2018. In 2019, he joined the Ravens as wideout coach, and that’s where he’s been entrenched since.
Culley is clearly a football lifer, and it would be interesting to say the least to see him get a big time job at his age. He has gone through and paid the dues as it relates to that, and could be set to cash in with his biggest job ever.
Ravens Could Face Major 2021 Staff Changes
The Ravens have attracted plenty of interest and seen plenty of moving parts this offseason. Quarterbacks coach James Urban interviewed for a role as new Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator, but that job went to Anthony Lynn. While defensive coordinator Don Martindale will stay, linebacker coach Mike Macdonald has already departed for Michigan to run Jim Harbaugh’s defense. Defensive backs coach Jesse Minter will leave to be Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator. Culley joined the lineup of potentially departing Ravens coaches when he interviewed for the Houston Texans head coaching job this past week, though it seemed like he could be a long shot he gets the job in the end.
Houston’s interest in Culley appears to be real, however, so the only thing the parties will be waiting on at this point is a decision.
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