No head coach in the NFL is stirring and sipping his drink with a shorter straw than the one David Culley drew from the Texans.
You cannot help but feel for Culley, a well-respected NFL lifer who finally got his first head-coaching chance this year at age 65, after working as an assistant coach for 26 years with six different teams.
So, what does Culley get with his big chance?
One of the messiest, most complicated quarterbacking dilemmas in recent NFL history with Deshaun Watson, the league’s most radioactive player because of the 22 civil lawsuits for sexual assault and misconduct with massage therapists currently levied at him.
The Texans’ timeline this offseason has been as chaotic as it has been unfortunate for the rookie head coach commissioned to try to turn around a team that went 4-12 last season.
Culley was hired at the end of January.
Watson, who led the NFL in passing yards in 2020 with 4,823 and is one of the most dynamic players at any position in the league, spent the month of February insisting he was done with the Texans. The four-year quarterback was leaking word that he wanted out of Houston, though he never went public with any tangible reasons.
Poor David Culley. He deserves better.
Then came March, when accuser after accuser revealed stories of Watson’s alleged sexual misconduct. That has snowballed to the point at which Watson has become toxic.
Watson wants a trade, but what team in its right mind would trade draft picks for a player who could be suspended by the league for a long time (maybe forever?) at any moment depending on the results of these civil suits?
The Texans, who want nothing more than to rid themselves of Watson, were reportedly asking for three first-round draft picks and then some, which is positively preposterous.
Any team that gives up more than one first-round pick for Watson, on the unlikely scenario that these 22 women are lying, is committing NFL business malpractice.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio told Sports Radio 610 on Wednesday that he doesn’t expect Watson to even dress for the game Sunday, calling the situation “day to day.”
Watson was listed as out on Houston’s injury report Friday, and there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight to this fiasco.
Poor David Culley. He deserves better.
Curiously, the NFL has not placed Watson on the Commissioner’s Exempt list, which according to the NFL Player Personnel Policy Manual is for “a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances.’’
There must be some legal reason why Watson, who has not been formally charged with a crime, has not been placed on this list. The NFL obviously doesn’t have any evidence against Watson, so it’s standing down and allowing him to play … at least until he is formally charged.
But it almost doesn’t matter, because Watson is refusing to play anyway.
So Sunday when the Texans host the Jaguars, Tyrod Taylor will start at quarterback while Watson remains a reluctant member of the team and broods … all the while awaiting his legal fate in the face of these damning accusations.
In the meantime, Watson’s accusers reportedly will begin giving their depositions Monday, the day after the Texans open their season.
Poor David Culley. He deserves better than this disgusting mess.