Most NFL owners would have fired Gary Kubiak by now, but Texans owner Bob McNair has given Kubiak at least one more chance. The Texans coach is excited to make his boss look good.
“I think we’ve got a damn good football team. I think we lost our way on the defensive side of the ball last year, and I think we have the perfect guy to fix it,” Kubiak told Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. “I think we can build a team that can win three ways, not one way. I’m excited to see that happen.”
The long lockout has helped to validate McNair’s decision, which we believe was the correct one. Scrapping Kubiak’s offense at this stage didn’t make sense.
Hiring Phillips was another validation. Kubiak and G.M. Rick Smith deserve the blame for Houston’s consistent defensive struggles over the last few years, and now they have essentially turned things over to Phillips.
Kubiak said that previous coordinators cut their list of potential defensive draft picks to roughly 50-60 prospects. Phillips got the list to 15-20, and the Texans drafted five of them.
“It was locked in before we went to draft day,” Kubiak said. “He knew exactly what he wanted.”
Kubiak’s future now depends on Phillips being right.