Head coach Dom Capers Owner Bob McNair Record 4–12 | General manager Charley Casserly Home field Reliant Stadium Division place 4th AFC South | |
The 2002 Houston Texans season was the franchise's inaugural season and the city of Houston's first NFL season since the Houston Oilers left in 1997 to move to Tennessee to become the Titans. The Divisional Realignment also placed the Texans and Titans in the same division.
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The Texans won their first-ever season game against the Dallas Cowboys 19–10 on Sunday Night Football. They were the first to do this since the 1961 Minnesota Vikings won 37–13 in their inaugural game. Head coach Dom Capers, who previously coached the expansion Carolina Panthers when they debuted in 1995, led the Texans to a 4–12 record.
Football returns to Houston
In June 1997, Bob McNair and Chuck Watson's plans for a National Hockey League expansion team fell apart due to the lack of an arena in the Houston area. Afterwards, the Houston Oilers moved to Nashville to become the Tennessee Titans. Discussion eventually began to create a new NFL expansion team, with the 31st being awarded to the reformed Cleveland Browns. Houston and Los Angeles were the two finalists, and on October 6, 1999, the league's owners voted unanimously to award Houston the 32nd franchise. In 2000, the new team, tentatively known as "Houston NFL 2002", decided on five potential team names: Apollos, Bobcats, Stallions, Texans and Wildcatters, and was eventually reduced to Apollos, Stallions and Texans. On September 6, the team name was officially revealed as the Houston Texans.
On January 19, 2000, the team hired former Washington Redskins general manager Charley Casserly to serve in the same position. In the search for a head coach, Miami coach Butch Davis was involved in discussions with McNair, but elected to stay with the university. In January 2001, the Texans hired Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Dom Capers as head coach; Capers had previously worked with the expansion Carolina Panthers as their HC. On January 20, Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Vic Fangio joined the staff in the same role, followed by former Cleveland Browns head coach Chris Palmer as offensive coordinator on February 3.
Free agency
On November 5, 2001, the Texans held workouts for defensive backs at the Reliant Astrodome. On December 29, the team signed ten players: running back Michael Basnight, safety Leomont Evans, tackles Robert Hicks and Jerry Wisne, defensive tackle Jason Nikolao, quarterback Mike Quinn, fullback Matt Snider, cornerback Jason Suttle, linebacker Casey Tisdale and safety Kevin Williams. On March 6, 2002, Colts offensive lineman Steve McKinney became the first unrestricted free agent to be signed by the Texans.
Expansion draft
To fill the Texans roster, the NFL held an expansion draft on February 18. The team was permitted to select 42 players from the other 31 teams, each of which allowed five players to be drafted. Houston were required to select 30 players or spend 38 percent ($27.24 million) of the $71.7 million salary cap.
The first player that the Texans selected was Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Tony Boselli; however, the five-time Pro Bowler had been suffering from shoulder injuries during the 2001 season and never played a snap for the Texans. Houston also selected 18 more players.
On February 26, quarterback Danny Wuerffel was traded to the Washington Redskins for defensive tackle Jerry DeLoach. The Texans had intended to draft DeLoach, but the Redskins replaced him with Matt Campbell.
Statistics
Despite being in their first season, Football Outsiders calculated that the Texans were, play-for-play, the least successful team in the NFL in 2002. FO also stated that the 2002 Texans had the worst offense and third-worst run offense they have ever tracked.