List of Houston Texans head coaches

Last updated
Gary Kubiak led the Texans to their 1st division championship and 1st playoff win. Gary Kubiak.jpg
Gary Kubiak led the Texans to their 1st division championship and 1st playoff win.

There have been six head coaches of the Houston Texans, a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas, United States. The Texans play in the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

Contents

In 2002, the Texans entered the NFL as an expansion team, with Dom Capers (2002–05) as the team's first head coach. Capers was selected, in part, due to his success in having led the expansion Carolina Panthers to the playoffs in just their second season in the league.

After three straight seasons of consistent improvement, the Texans took a major step backward in 2005 with a 2–14 finish. At the end of the season, Capers was fired and replaced with Gary Kubiak (2006–2013), then the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. Kubiak, a Houston native and alumnus of nearby Texas A&M, would eventually become the longest-tenured head coach in franchise history, coaching 125 games and posting a 61–64 record.

Kubiak earned several distinctions as head coach, having led the Texans to their first non-losing season (2007), their first winning season (2009), and their first division title, playoff appearance, and playoff win (2011). In both 2011 and 2012, the Texans won the AFC South and the first game of the playoffs but lost the divisional game the following week.

In 2013, the Texans started the season 2–0, but then lost their next 11 games. Kubiak was fired mid-season, on December 6, 2013 [1] and was replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Wade Phillips (2013, 3 games).

During the 2013 off-season, Bill O'Brien (2014–2020) was hired to be the Texans' next head coach. [2] O'Brien had previously served as head coach at Penn State and as offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots.

In the 2020 season, the Texans started 0-4, and O'Brien was fired and replaced by interim head coach Romeo Crennel during the regular season on October 5, 2020. [3]

During the 2020 offseason, David Culley was hired as the Texans' next head coach. [4] Culley had previously served as an assistant head coach and wide receivers coach with multiple NFL franchises, most recently the Baltimore Ravens. However, he was fired after just one season, with the team posting a 4–13 record during his brief tenure. [5] [6]

During the 2021 offseason, Lovie Smith was hired as the Texans' next head coach. [7] Smith had previously served as associate head coach and defensive coordinator during the 2021 season. Smith was previously the head coach of the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as the Illinois Fighting Illini. Smith, however, was fired after posting a 3–13–1 record, becoming the second-straight Texans head coach to be fired after one season. [8]

During the 2022 offseason, DeMeco Ryans was hired as the Texans' next head coach; [9] Ryans served as defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers. Ryans also was drafted in 2006 by the Texans where he played for six seasons.

Key

#Number of coaches [N 1]
YrsYears coached
FirstFirst season coached
LastLast season coached
GCGames Coached
WWins
LLoses
TTies
Win%Win – Loss percentage
*Spent entire NFL head coaching career with the Texans

Coaches

Note: Statistics are accurate through end of 2023 NFL season.
#ImageNameTerm [N 2] Regular seasonPlayoffsAccomplishmentsRef.
FirstLastGCWLTWin%GCWL
1 Dom Capers.jpg Dom Capers 2002 2005 6418460.281— [10]
2 Gary Kubiak in 2008.jpg Gary Kubiak 2006 2013 [N 3] 12561640.4884222 AFC South Championships (2011, 2012)
2 Playoff Berths 		[11]
– Wade Phillips at the Redneck Country Club, June 21, 2017 MG 9223 (35356444871).jpg Wade Phillips 2013 [N 3] 3030.000— [12]
3 Bill O'Brien (cropped).JPG Bill O'Brien * 2014 2020 [N 4] 10052480.5206244 AFC South Championships (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019)
4 Playoff Berths 		[13]
– Romeo Crennel 2005 (cropped).jpg Romeo Crennel 2020 [N 4] 12480.333— [14]
4 David Culley 2021 (cropped).png David Culley * 2021 174130.235— [15]
5 Lovie Smith (cropped 2).jpg Lovie Smith 2022 173131.206— [16]
6 DeMeco Ryan Texans practice '10.jpg DeMeco Ryans * 2023–present171070.5882111 AFC South Championship (2023)
1 Playoff Berth 		[17]

Notes

  1. ↑ A running total of the number of coaches of the Texans. Thus, any coach who has two or more terms as head coach is only counted once.
  2. ↑ Each year is linked to an article about that particular NFL season.
  3. 1 2 After 13 games of the 2013 season, with the Texans at 2–11 (.154), Kubiak was fired as head coach and replaced by defensive coordinator Wade Phillips on an interim basis. Phillips had earlier served as interim coach against the Arizona Cardinals, after Kubiak took a medical leave of absence after collapsing during a game against the Indianapolis Colts.
  4. 1 2 After 4 games of the 2020 season, with the Texans at 0–4 (.000), O'Brien was fired as head coach and replaced by Assistant head coach Romeo Crennel on an interim basis.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Texans</span> National Football League franchise in Houston, Texas

The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NRG Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wade Phillips</span> American football coach (born 1947)

Harold Wade Phillips is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, and Houston Roughnecks. He has also served as interim head coach for the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and the Houston Texans. Additionally, Phillips has long been considered to be among the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. In his long career, he has served as defensive coordinator in eight separate stints with seven different franchises. Multiple players under Phillips' system have won Defensive Player of the Year: Reggie White, Bryce Paup, Bruce Smith, J. J. Watt and Aaron Donald. Others under Phillips have won Defensive Rookie of the Year: Mike Croel and Shawne Merriman. In Phillips' lone Super Bowl victory, a defensive player would be named Super Bowl MVP: Von Miller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dom Capers</span> American football player and coach (born 1950)

Ernest Dominic Capers is an American football coach who is a senior defensive assistant for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the inaugural head coach of the Panthers and the Houston Texans for four seasons each. Capers is the only head coach to lead two different NFL expansion teams during their first seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romeo Crennel</span> American football player and coach (born 1947)

Romeo Crennel is a former American football coach, who was the senior advisor for football performance for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A former long-time coaching assistant to Bill Parcells, Crennel served as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2005 to 2008 and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012, as well an assistant coach for six NFL teams and four collegiate teams. He has over 50 years of coaching experience, which has included consistently being employed as a coach for all but two seasons since 1970, only taking the 2009 and 2013 seasons off following both of his tenures as a permanent head coach. He has five Super Bowl wins as assistant coach, two with the New York Giants and three with the New England Patriots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovie Smith</span> American football coach and former player (born 1958)

Lovie Lee Smith is an American football coach. He has served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL), and as the head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams in 2001 and as head coach for the Bears in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Kubiak</span> American football player and coach (born 1961)

Gary Wayne Kubiak is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback for the Denver Broncos before coaching, serving as head coach for the Houston Texans from 2006 to 2013 and the Broncos from 2015 to 2016 before stepping down from the position on January 1, 2017, citing health reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Culley</span> American football coach (born 1955)

David Wayne Culley is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL).

The history of the Houston Texans began in 2002, bringing the National Football League back to Houston, Texas after the city's previous franchise, the Houston Oilers, relocated to Nashville, Tennessee to eventually become the Tennessee Titans. The Texans are the newest franchise in the NFL. Despite some growing pains in the first nine years of their existence, the Texans became a more dominant team in the NFL's AFC South division in the 2010s, though they have yet to appear in a Super Bowl or a conference championship game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill O'Brien (American football)</span> American football coach (born 1969)

William James O'Brien, nicknamed the Teapot, is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Boston College, a position he has held since 2024. He was the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020, and at Penn State from 2012 to 2013. Prior to Boston College, O’Brien was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.

References

  1. ↑ "Houston Texans fire coach Gary Kubiak". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  2. ↑ "Texans reach agreement with Bill O'Brien". USA Today .
  3. ↑ "Romeo Crennel brings wealth of experience as head coach" . Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  4. ↑ Public Relations, Houston Texans (2021-01-29). "Houston Texans Hire David Culley as Head Coach". www.houstontexans.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  5. ↑ "Statements from the Houston Texans". Houston Texans. January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Houston Texans fire head coach David Culley after one season". NFL.com . January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  7. ↑ Public Relations, Houston Texans (2022-02-07). "Houston Texans Hire Lovie Smith as Head Coach". www.houstontexans.com. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  8. ↑ "Statement from Texans Chair and CEO Cal McNair and General Manager Nick Caserio on Lovie Smith". Houston Texans. January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ Public Relations, Houston Texans (2023-01-31). "Houston Texans hire DeMeco Ryans as Head Coach". www.houstontexans.com. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  10. ↑ "Dom Capers Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Gary Kubiak Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Wade Phillips Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Bill O'Brien Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Romeo Crennel Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  15. ↑ "David Culley Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Lovie Smith Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  17. ↑ "DeMeco Ryans Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.