On Friday, Texans general manager Nick Caserio addressed the media to discuss the outlook on the team moving forward after the firing of head coach David Culley.

“I think from where we were then to where we are now, we’re in a lot better position,” said Caserio. “Quite frankly, I think that’s because of the leadership and the guidance and direction that David Culley provided this football team. I have a lot of personal respect, appreciation, and admiration for what he did for this team, for a lot of people in this building.”

Culley, 65, was fired on Thursday along with offensive coordinator Tim Kelly after the Texans finished with a 4-13 record. The long-time NFL assistant is the first coach in franchise history to be let go after one season.

“I loved every minute of being the head coach of the Houston Texans,” said Culley in his final statement. “I appreciate the players and coaches for staying the course with me through the ups and downs of our season. I’m disappointed we didn’t win more games, and I won’t have a chance to improve on the lessons I’ve learned, but I fully understand this is a bottom-line business, and I didn’t do enough.”

Philosophical differences were one of Caserio’s main reasons the team moved on from Culley. They had different perspectives on what direction the team needed to move forward.

“I think it’s about moving forward, and it’s about, I would say, being open-minded to potentially making some changes, whatever those entail, whatever that constitution looks like,” said Caserio. “Again, it’s never about one thing. Out of fairness to everybody, I don’t think it’s the right thing to talk about what those differences are. I think the overarching theme is that we need to be better, we need to get better, and we need to find ways to get better.”

Many wonder how the Texans will get better after abandoning the plan after just one year. Most believed that the Culley hiring was strange from the beginning, especially for a person who had never been a head coach or a coordinator in the NFL. Caserio said he believed in Culley when they hired him and that he was the best person to help the Texans begin their rebuild.

“We hired David because we thought he was the best fit for the Houston Texans organization at the time and still feel that way,” Caserio said on Friday. “You kind of have to look at its own bucket, and we made a commitment to David because we thought we felt that he was the best coach for our organization at that time.”

With uncertainty surrounding quarterback Deshaun Watson and a depleted roster that includes 33 expiring contracts, it will be interesting to see who the Texans will hire that can help get them back on the road to success.