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Ray Rhodes Hiring Official

Texans_Chick

Texans_Chick

Utopian Dreamer
Texans News

The Houston Texans have named Ray Rhodes as the team’s new assistant defensive backs coach, it was announced today.

Rhodes joins the Texans following five seasons (2003-07) with the Seattle Seahawks. He was the Seahawks defensive coordinator from 2003-05, and then moved into the role of special projects/defense for the past two seasons.

The Seattle defense improved from 28th in the NFL the year prior to his arrival to 19th in his first season. Seattle made the playoffs in each of Rhodes’ five seasons there.

Rhodes is reunited in Houston with a number of former colleagues, including Texans head coach Gary Kubiak, with whom he coached in San Francisco in 1994 and in Denver from 2001-02.

“He brings tremendous experience and passion to our coaching staff,” Kubiak said.

Rhodes is a veteran of 27 years in the NFL, including 12 as a defensive coordinator or head coach. As a coordinator, his defense has finished outside the league’s top 10 just three times.

His career record as a head coach is 37-42-1, including a pair of playoff appearances. He was head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1995-98 and was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1999. Rhodes earned NFL Coach of the Year honors in 1995 when he guided the Eagles to a 10-6 record and advanced to the NFC Divisional Playoffs in his first season as head coach.

Prior to joining the Seahawks, Rhodes was defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2001-02. Rhodes spent the 2000 season as the Washington Redskins’ defensive coordinator. He also served as the defensive coordinator in Green Bay (1992-93) and San Francisco (1994) prior to taking the Eagles head coaching position.

The Mexia, Texas native broke into the NFL coaching ranks in 1981 as the assistant secondary coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He was promoted to defensive backs coach in 1983 and remained in that position until 1991. Rhodes owns five Super Bowl rings as a coach, all with the 49ers. He was the defensive coordinator for San Francisco’s last World Championship team in 1994.

Rhodes played running back for two seasons at TCU (1969-70) before transferring to Tulsa and completing his career there. Rhodes was selected by the New York Giants in the 10th round of the 1974 NFL Draft and played for seven years (1974-80). He played three seasons at wide receiver for the Giants and led the NFL with a 20.7 yards-per-catch average in 1975 before being moved to defensive back in 1977. He won a starting job at cornerback and started for three years for the Giants before being traded to San Francisco before the 1980 season, his last as a player.
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So there you go. Assistant defensive backs coach. Official.
 
axman40 said:
To quote Mr. Burns, " Excellent"!
:texflag:
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BurnsExcellentSticker.jpg


:D
 
Great news indeed. I can't wait to see the impact he has on our DB's. Hopefully he is persistent to Kubes about drafting some good talent this year as well!
 
Cool. Now, Rick can go get Trufant. I'm starting to drool at the possibility of Trufant, Dunta, Bennett, Demps & Boulware in our secondary. Not to mention who we may get in the draft.
 
Remember when Bobby Bouchet (or maybe it was Chuck Knoll) was the coach of the Steelers in the early 70's and they made 3 good drafts and went on to win 4 Super Bowls? GOOD COACHING made that possible. With the coaching staff this team is assembling and the way we've been drafting the last 2 years, we just might be the next Steel Curtain.
 
it does seem like the additions of Frank Bush last year, Sherman the previous and Alex Gibbs and Ray Rhodes this year that our coaching staff has really become a strength for us. The teams philosophy is surrounding youth with veteran wisdom. We've got some young guys in Kyle Shanahan and John Benton with several well respected and successful senior members like Gibbs, Rhodes and Bush.

I really like this way of thinking. Kubiak surrounds himself with guys that have proven ways of winning as well as guys that may bring fresh thinking and new ideas to the table. There in the middle is Kubiak. Kind of a "tweener" if you will. A veteran OC if ever there was one. (maybe the guy running the colts) But a young HC.

It looks real good.
 
I'm not a big fan of his defensive schemes....but he does bring lots of needed experince to the defensive side of the ball, and I do think we needed that. Get ready for lots of soft defense in between the 20's though.
 
Vinny said:
I'm not a big fan of his defensive schemes....but he does bring lots of needed experince to the defensive side of the ball, and I do think we needed that. Get ready for lots of soft defense in between the 20's though.
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So, you're saying there will not be much of a change to what we have now? Because if we get much softer between the 20's, we'd be equivalent to the Stay Puffed Marshmellow man.

Why do you say that? Does he like to play zone? I'm curious because I'm not familiar with his coaching scheme. :thinking:
 
HOU-TEX said:
So, you're saying there will not be much of a change to what we have now? Because if we get much softer between the 20's, we'd be equivalent to the Stay Puffed Marshmellow man.

Why do you say that? Does he like to play zone? I'm curious because I'm not familiar with his coaching scheme. :thinking:
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He's notoriously known for playing "prevent" defense and allowing the underneath passes...he's been a good coach overall though. I think we really need some more NFL experience on the defensive side of the ball and while I'm not crazy about him as a coach I think we needed some more experience back there.
 
Vinny said:
He's notoriously known for playing "prevent" defense and allowing the underneath passes...he's been a good coach overall though. I think we really need some more NFL experience on the defensive side of the ball and while I'm not crazy about him as a coach I think we needed some more experience back there.
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can you name some defensive free agents who meet Ray Rhodes "prevent" defensive scheme the Texans could target?
 
This a coup for the Texans and Kubiak. The defense was a mess last year. The bad news is this probably keeps Richard Smith on board for a time.

Now does Rhodes help us keep Demps ? Or aquire a certain free agent named Marcus Trufant ?
 
Vinny said:
He's notoriously known for playing "prevent" defense and allowing the underneath passes...he's been a good coach overall though. I think we really need some more NFL experience on the defensive side of the ball and while I'm not crazy about him as a coach I think we needed some more experience back there.
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Which sounds identical to the way we were playing after Dunta went down. Alot of zone schemes to which I've never been a fan. :gun:
 
beerlover said:
can you name some defensive free agents who meet Ray Rhodes "prevent" defensive scheme the Texans could target?
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I'll have to look at the lists...but I'm not sure exactly how the 2008 defense is going to change at this point...I mean, he is an asst db coach. How much authority does and assistant position coach have in the scheme?
 
Vinny said:
I'll have to look at the lists...but I'm not sure exactly how the 2008 defense is going to change at this point...I mean, he is an asst db coach. How much authority does and assistant position coach have in the scheme?
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I understand its all speculation anyway, but I would trust your opinion in this matter. I've enjoyed reading your posts for years now & usually they are spot on. I've said this, Texans fans know their team better than anyone else out there even those in the profession sometimes, its both cool & amazing function of a board like this so kudos to all the mods who make it happen :)
 
beerlover said:
I understand its all speculation anyway, but I would trust your opinion in this matter. I've enjoyed reading your posts for years now & usually they are spot on. I've said this, Texans fans know their team better than anyone else out there even those in the profession sometimes, its both cool & amazing function of a board like this so kudos to all the mods who make it happen :)
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That was nice Wes...where do I send the check?
 
HOU-TEX said:
Which sounds identical to the way we were playing after Dunta went down. Alot of zone schemes to which I've never been a fan. :gun:
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Fan of it or not, the rules of today's NFL dictate a lot of zone defense. Other than GB, I can't think of a good NFL defense that plays predominately man coverage.
 
dalemurphy said:
Fan of it or not, the rules of today's NFL dictate a lot of zone defense. Other than GB, I can't think of a good NFL defense that plays predominately man coverage.
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I can understand running zone periodically, but if a team has to run a zone type scheme 100% of the time, to me that's telling of a talent issue.:cool:
 
Vinny said:
I'm not a big fan of his defensive schemes....but he does bring lots of needed experince to the defensive side of the ball, and I do think we needed that. Get ready for lots of soft defense in between the 20's though.
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doubt he'll make a huge difference there since he's an assistant d-backs coach.
 
I think he's probably just going to be an assisstant d-backs coach who offers some input.
 
Vinny said:
00-4911-NCL-SIDE.jpg
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I thought we got rid of that thing Vinny, I thought it got picked up by Carolina :specnatz:

maybe it was because we didn't offer to change the colors from Battle red,liberty white,and steel blue to
blue,black and white?
 
beerlover said:
the title is misleading. he'll wear many hats, evaluator of talent, mentor to Richard Smith, & secondary coach.
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Polo said:
I think he's probably just going to be an assisstant d-backs coach who offers some input.
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Nah, I'm with beerlover on this one. I'm not sure what his salary was or what it will be, but I'm willing to bet he'll be getting paid more than a position coaches asst. Otherwise, why would he come here? I think the title was given because they didn't want to lose or demote existing coaches. :cool:
 
ObsiWan said:
they can play man because of the effectiveness of their pass rush... take that away (i.e., Vanden Bosch & "Haynesworth") and their DB's get toasted too
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no, they play man because that is what Fisher coaches....he uses his S in the box more than most teams and put his corners on an island as a foundation of his hybrid 46 defense...not so much 46 now, but he is a heavy man concept believer and always has been way back to his days here in Houston.
 
Vinny said:
no, they play man because that is what Fisher coaches....he uses his S in the box more than most teams and put his corners on an island as a foundation of his hybrid 46 defense...not so much 46 now, but he is a heavy man concept believer and always has been way back to his days here in Houston.
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Granted. Fisher's philosophy flows from - as you alluded to - Buddy Ryan's pressure 46-defense.

Personally, I'd like to see that philosophy - more pressure from up front - instituted here.
 
HOU-TEX said:
Nah, I'm with beerlover on this one. I'm not sure what his salary was or what it will be, but I'm willing to bet he'll be getting paid more than a position coaches asst. Otherwise, why would he come here? I think the title was given because they didn't want to lose or demote existing coaches. :cool:
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I wasn't really disagreeing with beerlover.

I don't think he's going to come in and over step his bounds though. I don't think he's going be an authoritative voice by any means. I really see him as a guy that has a wealth of knowledge and will basically be here as a reference.

I think he'll offer up some input, make a few suggestions and of course assist the d-backs coach.

And I think he came here because this is a young team growing into itself and who wouldn't want to have a hand in helping build something ? Plus his familiarity with Kubiak...Anywho, I'm sure he didn't come here strictly for the power and money...
 
Vinny said:
I'm not a big fan of his defensive schemes....but he does bring lots of needed experince to the defensive side of the ball, and I do think we needed that. Get ready for lots of soft defense in between the 20's though.
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Great, another prevent specialist. Maybe Rob Bironas can kick another 8 FGs to beat us again.

If he's mentoring Richard Smith, what do they talk about? Soft coverages of twenty vs. thirty yards back? Not too many prevent/soft defenses put fear into opponents. "Bend but don't break" defensive philosophy is akin to "play not to lose" mentality in offenses. Weak. I'd much rather see an aggressive style that occasionally gets burned instead of the dink and dunk defense that lets opponents consistently run down the field. Blow games open versus keeping it close until the fourth quarter. JMO

I'll hope for the best, and obviously expect to see our DBs learn from his knowledge. He's got a lot of experience, so that could definitely help us mature as a unit.
 
Something I don't think has been mentioned; maybe he actually is her to assist Hoke? Maybe, after the job he did last year, Hoke has a gentleman's agreement that he's next in line if Smith doesn't shape up this yea.
 
I'm not going to belittle the hire. I stand by my original take. A guy with a bad ticker who is moving back home to be close to some high end help and his family. I do not excpect this guy to be working eighteen hours a day. I'm sure Hoke and the rest of them will close their mouths and listen when he open his.
 
threetoedpete said:
I'm not going to belittle the hire. I stand by original take. A guy with a bad ticker who is moving back home to be close to some high end help and his family. I do not excpect this guy to be working eighteen hours a day. I'm sure Hoke and the rest of them will close their mouths and listen when he open his.
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I'm glad we are bringing in more experience. I just don't see his schemes as anything special...but he is a sound NFL coach with head coaching experience and he is supposedly a great communicator who has good relationships with his players (ie they play hard for him). I think that Richard Smith and Hoke could use more great communicators on their side of the ball....I think the players will listen to Rhodes.
Double Barrel said:
Great, another prevent specialist. Maybe Rob Bironas can kick another 8 FGs to beat us again.

If he's mentoring Richard Smith, what do they talk about? Soft coverages of twenty vs. thirty yards back? Not too many prevent/soft defenses put fear into opponents. "Bend but don't break" defensive philosophy is akin to "play not to lose" mentality in offenses. Weak. I'd much rather see an aggressive style that occasionally gets burned instead of the dink and dunk defense that lets opponents consistently run down the field. Blow games open versus keeping it close until the fourth quarter. JMO

I'll hope for the best, and obviously expect to see our DBs learn from his knowledge. He's got a lot of experience, so that could definitely help us mature as a unit.
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One way to look at it is that this style is pretty much what the Colts do and we have all kinds of trouble handling their defense. This style is lame when you don't play it right or it isn't coached well or if you don't have the right players...or any combination of the above. I think the reality of the situation is that it is easier to find players who can play facing the QB (zone) easier than you can find great press corners like Champ Bailey.
 
We went with Bennett and Harrison last year in the draft and I expect us to go DB in the 1st. Rhodes is here to help develop the young secondary and get his feet wet for future prospective responsibilites in my opinion.
 
Vinny said:
I'm glad we are bringing in more experience. I just don't see his schemes as anything special...but he is a sound NFL coach with head coaching experience and he is supposedly a great communicator who has good relationships with his players (ie they play hard for him). I think that Richard Smith and Hoke could use more great communicators on their side of the ball....I think the players will listen to Rhodes. One way to look at it is that this style is pretty much what the Colts do and we have all kinds of trouble handling their defense. This style is lame when you don't play it right or it isn't coached well or if you don't have the right players...or any combination of the above. I think the reality of the situation is that it is easier to find players who can play facing the QB (zone) easier than you can find great press corners like Champ Bailey.
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Agreed.

This can't be said enough. I also think that Kubiak feels comfortable having a babysitter over on the defense who has done this before. Even if Hoke is the best guy evaaar, the Texans were his first NFL job. And his secondary stunk. And probably would have stunk even if they would have stayed healthy. And are generally bad at getting picks. And have been painful to watch.

McNair said that after the season they evaluated their coaches and players. And look who gets the help coachingwise--the offensive line/running game and the secondary. They changed the coaching on the defensive line when that wasn't working.

Oh, I would dearly love to see a dominating smart defense. Last year, it was nice to see the offense be able to actually look like something that is seen in the NFL (the pre-Kubiak offenses seem like a really bad dream.) A dominating defense is fun because it gets so loud. I would like to be able to watch a Texans defense and not worry so much about a "there we go again moment."
 
Vinny said:
I'm glad we are bringing in more experience. I just don't see his schemes as anything special...but he is a sound NFL coach with head coaching experience and he is supposedly a great communicator who has good relationships with his players (ie they play hard for him). I think that Richard Smith and Hoke could use more great communicators on their side of the ball....I think the players will listen to Rhodes. One way to look at it is that this style is pretty much what the Colts do and we have all kinds of trouble handling their defense. This style is lame when you don't play it right or it isn't coached well or if you don't have the right players...or any combination of the above. I think the reality of the situation is that it is easier to find players who can play facing the QB (zone) easier than you can find great press corners like Champ Bailey.
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I'm definitely not a fan of the soft "bend but not break" defenses, but if this phrase holds true I could live with it. I understand DC isn't his new position but I'm going to hope his experience and knowledge will get us where we need to be. And that's a top 10 defense.:d:

Rhodes is a veteran of 27 years in the NFL, including 12 as a defensive coordinator or head coach. As a coordinator, his defense has finished outside the league’s top 10 just three times.
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