Texans in the Kubiak Era

This is a condensed version of transactions that have been made by the organization since Kubiak was hired. In my opinion, Kubiak (and later Smith) has orchestrated a massive reconstruction of the mess he inherited last season. This staff has really come in here and put their stamp on the team, no doubt.

For the sake of brevity, I removed quite a few transactions, but kept the ones I thought were meaningful.

The full transactions list is available here:
http://www.houstontexans.com/news/transactions.php?section=N Transactions


2007 Texans transactions

March 23: Re-signed RB Ron Dayne and released QB David Carr and RB Domanick Williams.

March 22: Completed a trade with the Atlanta Falcons for QB Matt Schaub. The Falcons received Houston's second-round draft picks in the 2007 and 2008 NFL Drafts. The Texans and Falcons also swapped first-round picks in the 2007 draft with Houston moving down two spots to 10th overall, and the Falcons moving up to the eight spot.

March 21: Signed free agent LB Shawn Barber. Signed LB Trent Bray and allocated him to NFL Europa.

March 15: Signed free agent DT Jeff Zgonina.

March 12: Re-signed TE Mark Bruener.

March 9: Signed free agent T Jordan Black.

March 8: Re-signed P Chad Stanley.

March 7: Signed free agent LB Danny Clark. Named Frank Pollack assistant offensive line coach.

March 5: Signed free agent RB Ahman Green to a contract. Re-signed CB Roc Alexander, DE N.D. Kalu, T Ephraim Salaam and WR Charlie Adams.

Feb. 28: Released T Zach Wiegert, DT Seth Payne and WR Eric Moulds.


2006 Texans transactions


Dec. 19: Signed WR Charlie Adams. Released WR Derrick Lewis.

Dec. 15: Signed WR Derrick Lewis from the practice squad to the active roster. Placed FB Jameel Cook on the reserve/injured list.

Dec. 6: Signed RB Chris Taylor from the practice squad to the active roster. Waived WR Derrick Lewis and signed him to the practice squad.

Dec. 2: Signed QB Quinton Porter to the active roster. Released T Mike Pearson.

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Nov. 21: Signed SS Michael Stone. Released SS Guss Scott.

Nov. 14: Signed CB Von Hutchins, DT Cedric Killings, T Mike Pearson. Placed DT Travis Johnson, CB Lewis Sanders, T Zach Wiegert on the reserve/injured list. Signed DT Earl Cochran to the practice squad.

Nov. 10: Released WR Edell Shepherd. Signed WR Derrick Lewis to the active roster.

Nov. 1: Signed CB Dexter Wynn. Released CB Derrick Johnson.

Oct. 24: Released WR Craphonso Thorpe from the practice squad. Released WR Derrick Lewis.

Oct. 16: Released CB Phillip Buchanon.

Oct. 10: Placed DT Alfred Malone on reserve/injured list. Activated DT Anthony Maddox from the practice squad. Signed DT Tim Bulman to the practice squad.

Oct. 9: Waived TE Bennie Joppru. Signed FB Vonta Leach. Released guards Mike Brisiel and Doug Neinhuis from the practice squad. Signed guards Cody Douglas and Atlas Herrion to the practice squad.

Sept. 20: Waived DB Kevin Garrett. Signed G Brad Bedell and DB Derrick Johnson.

Sept. 19: Placed T Charles Spencer on the reserve/injured list.

Sept. 13: Traded RB Vernand Morency to the Green Bay Packers for RB Samkon Gado.Signed RB Chris Taylor to the practice squad.

Sept. 11: Released RB Chris Taylor.

September 9: Signed RB Chris Taylor from the practice squad to the active roster. Released LB Roy Manning.

September 7: Signed DT Thomas Johnson. Released DT Atiyyah Ellison.

September 5: Signed RB Ron Dayne and LB Roy Manning to the 53-man roster. Released OL Brad Bedell. Signed WR David Anderson, RB Robert Douglas, DT Anthony Maddox, RB Chris Taylor and DB John Walker to the practice squad. Released DB Kevin Curtis from the practice squad.

September 4: Signed G Mike Brisiel, DB Kevin Curtis, QB Quinton Porter and WR Richie Ross to the practice squad.

September 3: Claimed DB Roc Alexander, DT Atiyyah Ellison, DB Gus Scott, WR Edell Shephered. Released WR David Anderson, DB Kevin Garrett, DT Robaire Smith, DB Michael Stone, RB Chris Taylor.

September 2: Placed RB Domanick Davis on the reserve/injured list.
Released OT Seth Wand.

September 1: Released DE Jeff Charleston, DE Earl Cochran, LB Sam Cowart, FS Kevin Curtis, CB Mark Estelle, TE Aaron Halterman, G David Loverne, FB Nick Luchey, LB Kenneth Pettway, QB Cody Pickett, QB Quinton Porter, WR Richie Ross, WR Jake Schifino, RB Antowain Smith, FS John Walker, LB Courtney Watson, G Chris Watton, CB Tramon Williams, DE Darrell Wright. Placed LB Kailee Wong on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

August 28: Released WR Derick Armstrong, OL Mike Brisiel, DE John Chick, SS Anthony Floyd, LB Barett Green, FB/TE Patrick Hape, CB Earthwind Moreland, WR Donovan Morgan, LB Saleem Rasheed, RB Damien Rhodes, DT Devarick Scandrett, WR Kendrick Starling, SS Ramon Walker. Placed WR Jerome Mathis on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

August 3: Signed FB Nick Luchey. Placed CB Chris McKenzie and TE Ben Steele on reserve/injured list.

July 30: Signed free agent CB Dexter McCleon. Released P Filip Filipovic.

July 28: Placed WR/KR Jerome Mathis and LB Kailee Wong on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

July 23: Signed OL Charles Spencer and OL Eric Winston. Released DB Jammal Lord and FB Nick Luchey.

July 14: Waived OL Todd Wade, LB Terry Pierce and LB Fred Brock.

July 13: Signed RB Wali Lundy and WR David Anderson.

July 12: Signed TE Owen Daniels.

July 7: Signed LB DeMeco Ryans.

June 13: Signed free agent FB Nick Luchey.

June 9: Signed restricted free agent DE Antwan Peek.

June 5: Named Rick Smith as team's new general manager. Signed T Chris Watton.

June 2: Released TE Matt Murphy.

May 31: Released FB Scott Weaver. Signed FB/TE Patrick Hape.

May 30: Signed WR Derrick Lewis. Released DT Jason Davis, DE Elliot Harris and LB Andre Torrey.

May 19: Waived QB Dave Ragone.

May 10: Announced that general manager Charley Casserly is resigning, effective June 1, to pursue other employment opportunities.

May 8: Signed undrafted free agents LB Fred Brock, DE John Chick, QB Quinton Porter, DE Devarick Scandrett, FB Scott Weaver and CB Tramon Williams. Signed unrestricted free agent RB Antowain Smith. Agreed to a contract extension with T Zach Wiegert.

May 4: Signed undrafted free agents DE Phillip Alexander, QB Matt Baker, G Mike Brisiel, G Kelvin Chaisson, DE Jeff Charleston, FB Quadtrine Hill, RB Damien Rhodes, WR Richie Ross, RB Chris Taylor, DB John Walker.

May 3: Released RB Jason Anderson, LB Frank Chamberlin, DT Jerry Deloach, DE Quinn Dorsey, K Hayden Epstein, DT Junior Ioane, LB Zeke Moreno, FB Moran Norris, G Tupe Peko and C Todd Washington.

May 1: Signed unrestricted free agent T Ephraim Salaam.

April 30: Selected TE Owen Daniels in the fourth round (98th overall). Chose RB Wali Lundy in the sixth round (170th overall) and WR David Anderson in the seventh round (241st overall).

April 29: On the first day of the 2006 NFL Draft, selected DE Mario Williams in the first round (first overall). Chose LB DeMeco Ryans in the second round (33rd overall). In the third round, drafted T Charles Spencer (65th overall) and T Eric Winston (66th overall).

April 28: Signed North Carolina State DE Mario Williams to a six-year contract.

April 27: Re-signed restricted free agent T Seth Wand.

April 26: Re-signed restricted free agents WR Derick Armstrong and QB Dave Ragone. Signed free agent T Brad Bedell.

April 10: Signed free agents S Michael Stone, TE Ben Steele and WR Chris Doering.

April 7: Signed free agent C Tupe Peko.

April 6: Traded a fifth-round pick (134th overall) in the 2006 NFL Draft to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for WR Eric Moulds.

April 4: Signed unrestricted free agent LB Wali Rainer and free agent WR Jake Schifino.

March 31: Signed free agent G David Loverne.

March 27: Signed unrestricted free agents DE N.D. Kalu and LB Zeke Moreno. Re-signed exclusive rights free agent LB Kenneth Pettway.

March 24: Signed unrestricted free agents LB Sam Cowart and C Mike Flanagan. Re-signed unrestricted free agent LB Troy Evans.

March 23: Signed exclusive rights free agent LB Shantee Orr, and unrestricted free agents LB Frank Chamberlin, LB DaShon Polk and SS Ramon Walker.

March 21: Signed unrestricted free agent TE Jeb Putzier.

March 18: Signed restricted free agent WR Kevin Walter.

March 13: Released DE Gary Walker; hired Tracy Simien as assistant defensive line coach. Signed free agent P Filip Filipovic.

March 12: Signed unrestricted free agent QB Sage Rosenfels and unrestricted free agent DE Anthony Weaver.

March 11: Signed unrestricted free agent FB Jameel Cook.

March 10: Released WR Allen Suber.

March 8: Re-signed G Steve McKinney; released P Bryce Benekos and TE Neal Philpot.

March 3: Released LB Larry Stevens.

Feb. 28: Released QB Tony Banks, FS Marcus Coleman and RB Tony Hollings.

Feb. 16: Re-signed G Fred Weary.

Feb. 15: Hired Mike Sherman as assistant head coach/offense.

Feb. 9: Hired John Benton as offensive line coach; Johnny Holland as linebackers coach and Martin Bayless as assistant defensive backs coach.

Feb. 2: Hired Mike McDaniel as offensive quality control coach; hired Brian Pariani as tight ends coach; hired Robert Saleh as defensive quality control coach; hired Richard Smith as defensive coordinator.

Jan. 30: Hired Troy Calhoun as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach; hired Kyle Shanahan as wide receivers coach; retained Chick Harris as running backs coach, Jon Hoke as defensive backs coach and Joe Marciano as special teams coordinator.

Jan. 26: Hired former Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak as head coach.

I'm glad Kubiak has come in and cleaned the crap from this team. I'm pumped for the 2007-08 season!

He has taken Texans rejects and replaced them with other teams rejects. We'll see if it work out or not. For now, I'll keep the faith. But im sure not ready to give him 5 years to prove it

I'll agree with you on Ephraim Salaam but I'd say the jury's out on the other free agents that have come in under Kubiak.

My head is spinning but of the starters we had last under Capers, how many are still here under Kubiak/Smith?

I don't understand why people sing Kubiak's praises.

He said this time last year the Texans didn't need a QB or a running back, and then traded for Moulds.

Now this team is addressing needs in all three of these areas. What about all the other areas the Texans have glaring holes in? How is this team any better than it was this time last year? It really isn't on paper!

Take away the Demeco Ryans pick last year out of the mix, and his tenure so far is spotty at best.

Kubiak is either making a very gutsy move on Schuab or it's going to blow up in his face. The chips are done now, and I really don't see how he recovers from this if they don't push for a playoff spot next year. Not having two 2nd picks are going to be very tough for this team and Schuab is going to have to pick up the slack.

However, one football player can be the difference. I hope Schuab it that kind of guy. If he isn't, Kubiak is done and I don't see how the Texans get above .500 by year 10.

gtexan02 said:

He has taken Texans rejects and replaced them with other teams rejects. We'll see if it work out or not. For now, I'll keep the faith. But im sure not ready to give him 5 years to prove it

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Yah its a bold move. Normally id say that you should release your rejects and replace them with the best players in the league.. not sure why Kubiak decided not to do that, but I guess time will tell.

hollywood_texan said:

I don't understand why people sing Kubiak's praises.

He said this time last year the Texans didn't need a QB or a running back, and then traded for Moulds.

Now this team is addressing needs in all three of these areas. What about all the other areas the Texans have glaring holes in? How is this team any better than it was this time last year? It really isn't on paper!

Take away the Demeco Ryans pick last year out of the mix, and his tenure so far is spotty at best.

Kubiak is either making a very gutsy move on Schuab or it's going to blow up in his face. The chips are done now, and I really don't see how he recovers from this if they don't push for a playoff spot next year. Not having two 2nd picks are going to be very tough for this team and Schuab is going to have to pick up the slack.

However, one football player can be the difference. I hope Schuab it that kind of guy. If he isn't, Kubiak is done and I don't see how the Texans get above .500 by year 10.

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I like Kubiak and I like the job he's doing, but if you re-read my initial post you'll see that I wasn't praising or criticizing him. I was just pointing out that a lot of changes have been made, and the franchise has his stamp (and Smith's) on it. I agree that they've made mistakes, but I'm hopeful that the biggest part of the learning curve is behind them and success is around the corner.

gtexan02 said:

He has taken Texans rejects and replaced them with other teams rejects. We'll see if it work out or not. For now, I'll keep the faith. But im sure not ready to give him 5 years to prove it

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Agreed for the most part, but overall, other teams rejects have been better than ours so I think things have improved.

I don't understand why people sing Kubiak's praises.

Because he isn't Doom Capers, because the team improved 4 games, because he fronts up speaks his mind and can actually call a game.

He said this time last year the Texans didn't need a QB or a running back, and then traded for Moulds. Now this team is addressing needs in all three of these areas.

Kubiak made a call without spending a lot of time around the team, after a year he has the stomes to admit he was wrong. Throw in the fact that DD was talking about being able to play all the time, if he was good to go there would be no Ahman Green but he isn't, so that is a need.

What about all the other areas the Texans have glaring holes in? How is this team any better than it was this time last year? It really isn't on paper!

They don't play games on paper, they play on the field and we improved 4 wins. That is a lot better.

Take away the Demeco Ryans pick last year out of the mix, and his tenure so far is spotty at best.

You can't criticise what you think he has done badly and not credit him for what he has done well.

Kubiak is either making a very gutsy move on Schuab or it's going to blow up in his face. The chips are done now, and I really don't see how he recovers from this if they don't push for a playoff spot next year. Not having two 2nd picks are going to be very tough for this team and Schuab is going to have to pick up the slack.

This I can't argue this is make or break for Kubiak and for the next 3 years of Texans football.

However, one football player can be the difference. I hope Schuab it that kind of guy.

I think you speak for all of us there.

90% of those names are unknowns who will remain that way. IMO, Kubiak AND Rick Smith have shown themselves to be exactly what they are: rookies.
I'm not completely enamored with Kubiak. He's made some questionable personnel moves(not necessarily bad), and made some very questionable calls during games last year. We often seemed completely outcoached on both sides of the ball. I'll go ahead and attribute some of that to having less than desirable talent at most positions. Assistant coaches are often a lot like backup QB's. They seem to be a lot better than they are because observers are either sick of what the HC is doing or they get more credit than deserve for a HC's success. Look at Norv Turner and Dave Wanndstedt. Both were great coordinators at Dallas, but have really struggled as HC's. I know I'll receive plenty of hatemail for saying all this, but IMO, it's a fairly accurrate, objective point of view.

michaelm said:

I like Kubiak and I like the job he's doing, but if you re-read my initial post you'll see that I wasn't praising or criticizing him. I was just pointing out that a lot of changes have been made, and the franchise has his stamp (and Smith's) on it. I agree that they've made mistakes, but I'm hopeful that the biggest part of the learning curve is behind them and success is around the corner.

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My post really wasn't about you in particular, just he vibe and feel on this board that Kubiak is a Wizard as a coach.

I don't think Kubiak has proved anything in a year. Not to say he will be a flop, he is just treading water right now from when he started. He's going to have to do a lot better this year.

I think that we're off to one hell of a start with these offseason FA signings. Seems like every signing is at worst a solid player.

I'm reminded of what the Saints did in free agency last year. They addressed all their needs while not necessarily getting all the top free agents. The QB that they signed had some bigger question marks than the one that we took.

If we didn't make the biggest impact in free agency, then I don't know who did.

Texans34Life said:

I'm glad Kubiak has come in and cleaned the crap from this team. I'm pumped for the 2007-08 season!

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You got that right. Big TD's are coming and the dink and dunk is a thing of the past.

If the they start winning more games than they lose, Kubiak will walk on water. But if they lose more than they win, eventually he'll be shown the door.

Welcome to the NFL.

I agree that Smith and Kubiak are not batting 1.00

What I am impressed with is they learn quickly and quickly address mistakes. That should be patently obvious from them cutting Carr, admitting the extension was a mistake, and admitting not having a plan for Williams and Spencer last year.

They also have addressed one of the team's biggest problems with depth and veteran leadership. I think the signing of Dayne, Putzier, Black, Salaam, Clark, Zgonina, and several other key resigns proves that. They cut a ton of dead weight and a ton of wasted salaries.

Yes they have not overhauled the disaster area completely with top talent, but considering they had a paltry cap space what did you expect them to get? They could buy 1-2 top FA and have a lot of holes or get a lot of depth to fill a lot of holes.

They also had the best draft the Texans have ever seen last year (while many disagree specifically with Mario), the mere fact they landed at least 4 if not more long term starters (with several possible future probowl candidates) is outstanding for any draft.

Now we find out there was owner interference on Smith and Kubiak from some of direction they wanted to go, should not make them fall on the sword for it.

I agree they are not polished like New England, but then again...very few organizations are like New England and to expect no mistakes or growing pains is unreasonable.

Great post michaelm.

Despite all the attention the high-profile moves get, these types of transactions are the bread and butter of a GM's daily job. These are the type of moves that let the Patriots lose an incredible number of DBs in the same season but yet remained one of the dominant teams.

Reading that list from bottom to top, I have to say that I'm impressed with what Smith has done so far. One that stood out was:

Feb. 16: Re-signed G Fred Weary.
May 1: Signed unrestricted free agent T Ephraim Salaam.
Oct. 9: Signed FB Vonta Leach.
Oct. 10: Activated DT Anthony Maddox from the practice squad.

Those are some unheralded moves that had a big time effect on the 2006 season.

There are some moves that were neutral and some that didn't work out, but on the whole that's a list of moves that improved the team greatly.

I think Kubiak is doing exactly what is expected from a first year coach. He improved on the year before so that is always a plus. I think people need to look past what Peyton and Mangenius did last year. I think we can all agree that they inherited talented teams that underachieved the year before. I will agree just like any coach if the team doesn't continue moving forward then Kubes should be let go. Also remember this is just his second year.

Kubiak and Smith inherited a big time challenge.... if they can bring us out of the mud and into the promise land... they will be top dogs in their profession.

Kubiak isn't walking on water at this point, but I think he's been doing a damn good job. We won 6 games last year; just one off our franchise best. We finally beat the Colts. We swept the Jags. We closed out the season 4-4.

There were some questionable calls during some games last year but I think that was him just trying to find a way to win with the tools he had available. I think he thought he had to be conservative because he didn't trust what he had on the field. He tried to get rid of all the worst elements on our team and tried to replace them with more productive (if not immensely better) players.

I think he did a poor job scouting Carr's ability but he might have had to have conceded on Carr to get the job. Or he might have thought he was going to have Sage available at the end of the season... just in case. I think he made another mistake in thinking that Domanick was going to be available to him and he made personnel decisions based on that assumption.

Demeco, Mario, and Owen constitute a pretty good draft especially if Winston and Spencer both contribute next year. I'm looking forward to the draft this year. I expect them to surprise us.

I think we're going to see a whole new and improved team on the field next year. I think it's going to have much more of the Kubiak stamp on it. And I'm excited by that. Then again, I'm basically a positive person.