David Culley and Brian Flores find fuse is short for Black coaches

LLANO, Texas — For the most part, America in the past year rallied to the cause of Black Lives Matter.  But now I’m wondering if Black coaches matter.  Even when they perform better than anyone expects, they get tossed out after a year or two like they’re worn-out underwear.

Brian Flores took over the 5-11 Miami Dolphins and turned them around, had back-to-back winning seasons in 2020 and 2021.  And then he was fired.

David Culley became coach of the Houston Texans after Bill O’Brien laid waste to the organization, like Rotterdam getting bombed by Germany.  Culley’s mission was to hold together a devastated, demoralized team coming off a 4-12 with a franchise quarterback looking for another franchise.  The outlook for 2021 was so grim that the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain, who’s covered the Texans for five decades, wrote that they’d probably lose every game.

So Culley went 4-13 in his first season and did not get a second one, though he will get paid for it.  And also, contrary to some news reports, for a third one.  Culley said the Texans agreed to pay him $17 million in severance.  Sounds fair to me.

But Culley’s abrupt dismissal stirred a wave of protest about Black coaches being set up to fail.  The Rooney Rule gets them in, racism gets them out.  Flores and Culley fit an all too familiar pattern.  Shannon Sharpe, Hall of Fame tight end, pointed out on Fox Sports’ Undisputed: “They fired Tony Dungy after a 9-7 season.  They fired Jim Caldwell after a 9-7 season and replaced him with Matt Patricia.”

Sharpe sees systemic racism as it’s typically practiced by white-controlled corporations.  Talented, experienced Black coaches stand aside while the good ol’ boys promote their younger white brethren.

When O’Brien was head coach of the Texans, he wanted to boost Mike Vrabel, whom he’d known from their time together with the New England Patriots.  In 2017 O’Brien promoted Vrabel from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator so he’d be attractive as a head-coach candidate.  To make this happen, Romeo Crennel, a very successful DC, was kicked upstairs to assistant head coach, in charge of nothing.

Granted, it’s hard to argue that Vrabel did not deserve his elevation.  He’s a lock to be Coach of the Year for securing the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the Tennessee Titans.

Nor can it be said that Flores and Culley were impeccable head coaches.  Flores lost patience with 23-year-old quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and let it be known he’d welcome Deshaun Watson with all his baggage.  Tagovailoa said the coach “F-bombed” him at halftime of one of the games.  So maybe someone had to go and it wasn’t going to be the starting QB, especially one who’s a No. 5 overall draft pick. 

I wrote in November that Culley would be fired, not because of his record or his skin color but because “he’s not a charismatic leader, someone who can rally a team by force of personality, the way Mike Vrabel does in Tennessee or Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh or Bruce Arians in Tampa.”  

I saw it as a sign of weakness that Culley couldn’t get along with two of his star players, Zach Cunningham and Justin Reid.  Culley suspended both for “disciplinary issues.”  Cunningham was subsequently traded to Tennessee.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio said he had “philosophical differences” with Culley “over the long-term direction and vision for our program.”

But that strikes me as disingenuous.  They don’t have to have the same vision as long as Culley executes whatever plan Caserio has, and there were no indications of insubordination.  Is Caserio looking for a yes man?

Deshaun Watson, disgruntled franchise quarterback, wants to leave the Texans because, as he said, “we need a culture shift, we need discipline.”

I’m not sure of Watson’s credibility as a culture critic, with 22 female masseuses accusing him of various types of sexual assault.  What he needs is self-discipline.  Considering what Culley started with – utter chaos — it seems a bit much to expect him to create a new culture in 11½ months.  

The Cincinnati Bengals are anything but a model franchise, but they did not panic when Zac Taylor went 2-14 as a rookie head coach.  They did not panic when he was 4-11-1 in his second season.  

So now they’re going to the second round of the playoffs.  Would Zac Taylor have gotten a third year if he were Black?  I have my doubts.

There are always reasons to fire someone, but Culley’s main achievement should not be overlooked: He hired a genuine quarterback whisperer, Pep Hamilton, who developed Andrew Luck, Alex Smith and – most recently – Justin Herbert into Pro Bowl selectees. 

Hamilton, 47, worked his Black magic with third-round draft pick Davis Mills.  In the last five games of his rookie season Mills threw 9 touchdowns to 2 interceptions and had a passer rating of 104.  Over that stretch he was the best rookie quarterback in the NFL– far better than the more heralded, higher drafted Mac Jones.

Culley’s firing leaves the NFL with one Black head coach – Mike Tomlin – and 75% Black players.  If this isn’t systemic racism, what is?