As the dust is settling on this 2010 Houston Texans season, the rumors surrounding the coaching staff are beginning to swirl.
For starters, Houston Oilers legends Bum Phillips and Dan Pastorini visited Texans practice yesterday, spoke with owner Bob McNair, and voiced their opinions that Gary Kubiak should be kept as Texans head coach. That endorsement, coupled with McNair's own vote of confidence after the loss to Baltimore, seems to hint that Kubiak will keep his job.
The biggest rumor to shake out of the last couple of days is that former Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips is set to become the Texans' new defensive coordinator.
I can hear your groans from here, but before you pass judgment take a minute to think about some things that Wade might bring to the table.
The first and most obvious thing is that he has ties to Houston. His father, the aforementioned Bum Phillips, was the most successful coach of the Houston Oilers while they were in Houston. On top of that, when the franchise was first being formed in 2002, Bum campaigned on behalf of Wade for him to be the first head coach of the team. Houston has always been a place Wade has wanted to coach.
You also can't argue with the man's track record as a defensive coordinator. He has been a successful coordinator in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Denver, Buffalo, Atlanta and San Diego. He did well enough in those last three stops that it led to him being given a head coaching position. Say what you will about Wade as a head coach, but the man can put together a defense.
As a head coach, his perceived biggest flaw might be his biggest attribute. He was thought to be too soft and too lenient on his players. With a defense that has as fragile a confidence as the Texans defense does, a coach who is approachable and supportive might be just what they need.
After the catastrophes that were the Texans defenses under first-time coordinators Richard Smith and Frank Bush, an experienced hand is needed. Phillips would be able to come in, assess the talent and put in his scheme without also having to learn how to become a coordinator at the same time.
Phillips isn't without his downsides though. For starters, he is known to run a 3-4 defense. Not only do the Texans currently run a 4-3 defense, but they ran a 3-4 defense under Vic Fangio between 2002 and 2005 to just mild success. Granted, those defenses had much less talent than the current one does and those defenses were actually better than the one the Texans have now.
Surely the Texans preference would be to bring in a 4-3 coordinator. I'd personally prefer a 4-3 coordinator as well. That being said, things are so amiss on this defense that I'm not so sure that a complete overhaul wouldn't be good.
Phillips also won't come cheap. The Texans really can't afford to go cheap when hiring a defensive coordinator at this point, but they are historically frugal. Compared to some of the free agent contracts they have thrown around, however, Wade is a relative steal.
If this does in fact come to fruition, it will certainly be a bittersweet move for Texans fans. The hiring of Wade Phillips will likely mean that Kubiak is keeping his job.
I'll be as disappointed as anyone if Kubiak stays on as head coach, but working under the assumption that he is staying, hiring Phillips as defensive coordinator is a nice consolation prize. At least now if the team falters, there will be one less place to point a finger.
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