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Gary Kubiak named new Texans head coach
By KRISTIE RIEKEN, AP SPORTS WRITER
HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Texans will hire Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak to take over the worst team in the league and help decide what to do with the first pick in the draft.
Texans owner Bob McNair said during a news conference Sunday that the hiring won't be completed until later in the week. The Texans couldn't negotiate a contract with Kubiak until the Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs.
McNair's announcement came about an hour after Denver lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game.
"Hopefully we'll have him down here by the middle of the week and he will then be assembling a staff," McNair said.
McNair said he planned to speak with Kubiak later Sunday.
There's been speculation for weeks that Kubiak would become the Texans' second coach, replacing Dom Capers.
Capers was fired a day after Houston finished its season 2-14. He had led the team since its inception four seasons ago.
Houston won four games in its first season, five in 2003 and seven last season before its 2005 meltdown.
Kubiak has been a highly regarded coaching prospect for several years, but this will be his first head coaching job at any level. He spent the last 11 years with Mike Shanahan in Denver, helping the team to back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1998 and 1999.
"To lose him is going to be tough," Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer said. "He really helped me step up in my career. We'll miss him but at the same time you're excited for him. He deserves it and he's a great football coach."
McNair said the improvements Plummer made under Kubiak's tutelage were a big draw.
"They've made great strides in improving the performance of Jake Plummer and I think Gary's responsible for that," he said.
The Texans formally interviewed four offensive coordinators and six total candidates, but Kubiak was the front-runner from the beginning. It certainly didn't hurt that he played in Denver for Dan Reeves, who is working for Houston as a consultant to McNair.
McNair said he chose Kubiak because he wants to revive Houston's sagging offense, which was ranked 30th in the league and managed just 253.3 yards per game in 2005.
"I think that the biggest challenge that we have is from the standpoint of putting together an effective offense," McNair said. "We've had difficulty with that process in the past."
What direction the offense is heading will hinge, at least in part, on what the Texans do with the No. 1 pick in April's draft.
Will they select running back Reggie Bush, the Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California, or Houston's favorite son, quarterback Vince Young, who led Texas to the national championship?
The Texans already have David Carr, a former first overall pick, at quarterback and seem reluctant to give up on him.
A third option is that the Texans will decide they have too many holes to fill and trade down.
Kubiak, a Houston native and former Texas A&M quarterback, played for Reeves and backed up John Elway from 1983-91. He had a 4-1 record as a starter.
He returned briefly to coach at his alma mater - in College Station, about 90 miles from Houston - then joined Shanahan on George Seifert's staff in San Francisco in 1994. With Shanahan as the offensive coordinator and Kubiak as the quarterbacks coach, the 49ers won the Super Bowl and Steve Young was named the MVP.
Shanahan became the Broncos' coach the following season and took Kubiak with him. Since then, the Broncos have had one of the league's top 10 offenses in 10 of 11 seasons. The Broncos ranked fifth in total offense in 2005.
Kubiak was a candidate for the job the first time around and was interviewed in 2001 before the Texans picked Capers.
McNair said Kubiak was much more prepared for the interview this time and that he was "very impressive." He said he told Kubiak after the 2001 interview that he thought he needed "a little more experience" before he became a head coach.
McNair said Kubiak recently told him: "'You were right back then, but I can just tell you I'm ready now.'"
"And I thought he was," McNair said
Once Kubiak takes over as the Texans head coach, he then can focus on the task of assembling an offensive staff. It's not going to be easy. Kubiak is going to need an offensive coordinator, someone to help deploy the same successful run-blocking schemes the Broncos have used for years. Problem is, Kubiak's good friend, Rick Dennison, the Broncos offensive line coach, is still under contract in Denver.
It's doubtful that Broncos coach Mike Shanahan will allow Dennison to leave, especially since Denver does not have a suitable replacement to coach its offensive line.
Should Kubiak be prohibited from bringing Dennison with him to Denver, he always could turn to another close old friend -- former Broncos and Falcons offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, a Hall of Fame quality offensive line coach.
The Falcons recently have explored the possibility of bringing back Gibbs, but they could have competition for his services
texman8 said:Wow! Possibility of getting Gibbs will be a positive step for Texans.
run-david-run said:where did that come from? who said anything about Gibbs?
(on why he chose Kubiak) I think the biggest challenge we have is from the standpoint of putting together an effective offense. Weve had difficulty with that process in the past. Gary Kubiak is a person who played quarterback in the NFL. He has coached quarterbacks, hes been an offensive coordinator. He has worked with young quarterbacks and been very successful. He worked with John Elway and of course, hes a Hall of Famer. Then of course, they acquired Jake Plummer and theyve made great strides in improving the performance of Jake Plummer and I think Garys responsible for that. I think that will fit in quite well with our team and allow us to make the most progress.
Yeah - the talk about developing Plummer makes me think they'll keep Carr, too.Bush said:Spells Carr
Bush said:Spells Carr
Nogwallaia said:Since Denver lost the AFC Championship, will the entire Bronco's coaching staff coach the AFC Pro Bowl team?
AustinJB said:Yeah...or the fact that he could develop a new YOUNG QB that they acquire through the draft.
Wake up people....you're reading too much into their words. Their speaking this way intentially....so that you can take what they mean and use it anyway you want to. It's called "Coach-speak".
If you're a proponent of Carr, you can take it to mean that they're going to groom Carr. If you're a proponent of VY, you can take it to mean that they're going to be better equipped to groom VY. They are not going to reveal their cards yet.![]()
"What was so great is Kubiak knew how to communicate. He was always the buffer. You knew he was in your corner," former Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe said. "Mike Shanahan doesn't do a whole lot of talking to players outside the big meeting room. Kubiak did all the installation of the game plan. Kubiak did all the correction when you messed up. The Broncos? They're going to miss him."
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Shanahan expects to lose more Broncos assistants as Kubiak fills his staff in Houston. For center Tom Nalen, who has bled orange to make the Denver offense a long-running smash hit, to even consider joining the Texans in free agency should be a clue as to the respect Kubiak commands.
ccdude730 said:even for those who are carr bashers should be a little excited. i know i am![]()
jacquescas said:i think they are going to split time. instead of thunder and lightning we will have lightning and lightning, the electrical storm. forget thunder thats too slow. light speed baby.