David Wayne Culley (born September 17, 1955) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach who most recently served as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the Houston Texans of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Culley has 45 years of coaching experience in both collegiate and professional levels, including 27 years of NFL assistant coaching experience. He previously worked on Andy Reid's staff with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, with whom he appeared in Super Bowl XXXIX, and Kansas City Chiefs from 1999 to 2016. Culley assumed his first head coaching position with the Houston Texans in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

; however, he was fired after only one season, finishing with a 4–13 record.

Early years

Culley was born and raised in

Sparta, Tennessee Sparta is a city in and the county seat of White County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,001 in 2020.U.S. Census we ...

. He attended White County High School, where he played point guard in basketball, pitcher in baseball and quarterback in football. Culley played quarterback at Vanderbilt, where he was the first African-American to play the position in school history.

Coaching career

Early career

Culley began his coaching career as a running backs coach at Austin Peay State University in 1978. In 1979, Culley joined

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, his alma mater, as their wide receivers coach. Culley then joined as the quarterbacks and running backs coach at

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as well as a college of Postgr ...

in 1982. In 1983, Culley was hired by the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

as their wide receivers coach. Culley then served as the quarterbacks coach at the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

in 1985. In 1989, Culley was hired by the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

(UTEP) as their offensive coordinator, running backs coach and wide receivers coach. In 1991, Culley then served as the wide receivers coach at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 1994, Culley was hired by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

as their wide receivers coach under head coach

Sam Wyche Samuel David Wyche (; January 5, 1945 – January 2, 2020) was an American football quarterback and coach. He was a quarterback and head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and a quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers. As head coach, he ...

Pittsburgh Steelers

In 1996, a season after the Steelers lost Super Bowl XXX to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, Culley was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as their wide receivers coach under head coach

Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the NFL for 15 se ...

Philadelphia Eagles

In 1999, Culley was hired by the

as their wide receivers coach under new head coach

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

. The Eagles made it to one Super Bowl during Culley's tenure; in 2005 and in 5 NFC Championship Games; 4 straight from the 2001 to 2004 seasons and in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. In 2011, Culley gained an additional role as a senior offensive assistant. Culley served in the Eagles coaching staff from 1999–2012, also Andy Reid's time as head coach of the team.

Kansas City Chiefs

In 2013, Culley was hired by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

as the assistant head coach/wide receivers coach, reuniting Culley with new head coach

, whom was fired by the Philadelphia Eagles the season prior.

Buffalo Bills

In 2017, Culley was hired by the Buffalo Bills as their quarterbacks coach under new head coach

Sean McDermott Sean Michael McDermott (born March 21, 1974) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL coaching career as an assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2001, ...

. Culley and McDermott both served as assistant coaches for the

under then-head coach

from 1999 to 2010. In Culley's first year with Buffalo, he coached quarterbacks

Tyrod Taylor Tyrod Diallo Taylor (born August 3, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Virginia Tech, leading the Hokies to the 2009 Orange Bowl as a Sophomore ...

and rookie

Nathan Peterman Nathan Michael Peterman (born May 4, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh following a stint with Tennessee and was selected by the Buffal ...

and the team would make the playoffs for the first time since

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, which was previously the longest playoff drought in the 4 major North American sports leagues. In his 2nd year, Culley coached rookie and future Pro Bowl quarterback

Josh Allen Josh or Joshua Allen may refer to: * Josh Allen (offensive lineman) (born 1991), former American football player * Josh Allen (quarterback) (born 1996), American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills since 2018 * Josh Allen (defensi ...

, the 7th pick in the 2018 draft.

Baltimore Ravens

In 2019, Culley was hired by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

as their assistant head coach, wide receivers coach and passing coordinator under head coach

John Harbaugh John William Harbaugh (born September 23, 1962) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles and served ...

. Culley and Harbaugh both served as assistant coaches for the Philadelphia Eagles under then-head coach

from 1999 to 2007. He missed the team's week 15 game in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

due to an illness.

Houston Texans

On January 29, 2021, Culley was hired to become the head coach of the Houston Texans. Culley became the Texans' fourth head coach in franchise history. On September 12, 2021, Culley made his regular-season head coaching debut against the

and led the Texans to a 37–21 victory, marking Culley’s first victory as a head coach. The Texans would win three more games during the 2021 season, finishing with a 4–13 record and matching their win total from the previous season. Culley was fired by the Texans on January 13, 2022, with general manager

Nick Caserio Nicholas Caserio (born December 27, 1975) is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Caserio began his NFL career as a coaching assistant with the New England Patriot ...

citing "philosophical differences over the long-term direction and vision for our program moving forward."

Head coaching record

References

External links

Houston Texans profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culley, David 1955 births Living people People from Sparta, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee Vanderbilt Commodores football players Coaches of American football from Tennessee Austin Peay Governors football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football coaches Chattanooga Mocs football coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaches UTEP Miners football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Philadelphia Eagles coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Buffalo Bills coaches Baltimore Ravens coaches Houston Texans head coaches American football quarterbacks