What has he shown you that warrants another year?
What will be different next year?
I'd prefer something empirical. Something measurable.
instant offense - i find it extremely difficult to believe many coaches could come in and get as much or more from our players without spending so much that it'd strangle other areas. even with kubiak we need 2 interior offensive linemen, a runningback (gerhart?), an upgrade at starting receiver (shipley?), and without kubiak coaching up orlovsky the next couple of years we'd need to sign or draft another quarterback. is another coach going to get a top 5 offense from this group even if everybody's healthy?
improvement - in every area but the one that matters (wins). talent, defense, and staff have improved each season. the defense has taken a huge step in several areas. many are calling for gibbs to call it quits, and we've got matthews ready to take over. bush in his first year has worked well, and lil shanahan is only going to improve.
youth - every team in the nfl talks about building through the draft, and kubiak's done exactly that. it may get him fired, but texans fans should be greatful our baseline mirrors the steelers or patriots of a decade (or more) ago as opposed to throwing money at possibilities like the redskins. if we're going to build exclusively through the draft and young free agents, we WILL be inconsistant. it beats the heck out of putting all of our eggs in sharper and glenn and coleman and payne and wade and (and and and) hoping to win with a very small window of opportunity.
building from the inside out - sure not all has worked as intended but it isnt for a lack of effort. kubiak's drafted spencer, winston, brown, caldwell, mario, okoye, and barwin as first day picks (missing two seconds in the last 3 seasons). we've also gone after hopeful or focused pieces such as studdard, okam, weaver, smith, robinson, cody, and an excess of walk-ons - many currently playing key roles. by conventional wisdom, kubiak's doing it exactly right and will see those fruits in the near future.
potential - similar to the draft, this is an area that could be the end of kubiak's tenure. many, if not most, of our draft picks and signings are based on what they'll do 2 to 5 years down the road. so many of our players, even the perceived busts, still have so much time to boom before they even mature. altering that progression could be detrimental and possibly disastrous when staying the course with coaches who know these guys is more likely to get better results.
developement - not perfect, but if we're going to expect the youngest starting lineup in the nfl to be in the playoffs, we cant ignore how they got to that position. some progress, some regress, some are going through both (as with all teams), but under kubiak we've seen a lot more of the former. mario, demeco, slaton, schaub, daniels, cushing, and pollard have all had probowl calibre seasons under kubiak with schaub being the old man at 28. with our offensive success, brown will also be mentioned before long.
competitiveness - outside of the jets, there hasnt been a game this season that we werent there to win. we didnt go in unprepared or unmotivated (see steelers), and whether up against indy or down against arizona the texans have given what they have. as with every cliche in football, we've been one break away from having secured a playoff spot at this point. we're SO dang close SO dang often - a couple more players can push us over that hill, a new coaching staff could go either direction.
consistancy - bob mcnair's great flaw. we need time to gel. we need to execute. UGH! yeah i think i'm bleeding out of the ears just writing that but it doesnt take away their truths. our offensive line stayed healthy last season and propelled slaton to what should've been a probowl birth, the runaway #1 receiver in the league, and a top 5 offense. that kind of cohesiveness, especially in a growing organization that is on a forward path (unlike capers' aging and declining path), will continue to build upon itsself. studdard and white and caldwell and barwin and pollard and cushing and quinn and jacoby are getting their first real reps this season - their familiarity next season whether as backups or starters will greatly improve our abilities along with kubiak and his staff's ability to adjust with them.