As expected, the Houston Texans will try to remedy one of the worst defenses in the NFL by bringing in the former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys -- and the son of a man who’s still beloved in Houston.
Bob Allen of ABC 13 in Houston reports that Wade Phillips will become the Texans’ new defensive coordinator.
Per the report, Phillips is expected to meet with coach Gary Kubiak today, and the hiring is expected to be announced thereafter.
Phillips presumably will implement his 3-4 defense, even though the Texans currently use a 4-3. With a potential lockout threatening to wipe out the offseason program, training camp, the preseason, and/or enough of the regular season to get the players to cave to the owners’ demands, Phillips may not have much of a chance to retool the personnel and/or to get them ready for a fundamentally different approach to defense.
The move also will give the Texans a potential in-house replacement for Kubiak, in the event that the team stumbles in 2011. The fact that Wade is the son of legendary Oilers coach Bum Phillips will make him only more attractive to possibly do to Kubiak what Jason Garrett did to Wade Phillips this year in Dallas.