Texans owe former head coach David Culley jaw-dropping amount of cash

Former Houston Texans head coach David Culley will be sitting pretty despite losing his job on Thursday. The Texans reportedly owe Culley $17 million to be paid over the next three years, according to Tom Pelissero.

The Texans initially hired David Culley to replace former head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien. O’Brien, now at Alabama, had a series of trade requests from franchise cornerstones in a run of disappointing seasons.

The #Texans owe David Culley another $17 million over the next three years, per source.

So Culley walks away with roughly $22 million for one season as Houston's head coach.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 13, 2022

Culley then left his post as Baltimore Ravens assistant head coach, wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator to undertake the rebuild in his first ever head coaching role.

In his one season, Culley led a depleted Texans team with a number of off-field issues to a 4-13 record. Houston will have the No. 3 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

After firing Culley, the Texans quickly fired offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, according to Adam Schefter.

Another interesting side note from the firing focuses on league diversity or a lack thereof at the moment. Following Thursday’s news and the firing of Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores earlier this week, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers is the only active black head coach.

NFL insiders report two different top Texans candidates

Just hours after the Houston Texans fired David Culley, NFL insiders named two different “lead” candidates for the job. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, former NFL player and New England Patriots linebacker coach Jerod Mayo is expected to emerge as a lead candidate for the position.

Mayo spent his entire playing career with the New England Patriots and coach Bill Belichick, rejoining as an inside linebacker coach in 2019. While the organization does not have a formal defensive coordinator, Mayo has worked alongside Steve Belichick, the outside linebacker coach. He’s now a prominent head coaching candidate for multiple teams.

Another report from NFL insider Aaron Wilson named former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who also holds Bill Belichick ties, the top candidate at this time. Flores was a surprise firing this week after helping guide Miami to a winning season with a seven-game win streak. He also had a pair of victories over the New England Patriots.

On3’s James Fletcher contributed to this report.