I just want to say that I don't think I've heard as much booing in Reliant as I did in the first half Monday night. I really hope Bob gets that the frustration level fans have with this team is peaking. If he keeps Kubiak and the same old **** happens again, people will be hanging McNair in effigy in the parking lot.
I don't believe that's an enitrely apt comparison because we wouldn't be *hiring* the coach. Splitting hairs, perhaps - but bringing in a guy who's 8-22 is a far cry from retaining a guy who's 8-22, IMO. It comes down to this: well, actually THE most important issues is whether McNair is willing to fire Kubiak and eat his salary - and would eating his salary impact his search for a new coach. Beyond that: Are you willing to risk disrupting the offense essentially to fix the defense? Because that's where we are as a team. I don't think the offense is above reproach by any means - but the defense is *clearly* THE problem. Even if you think Kubiak is an awful head coach, I would argue some of that is magnified by how terrible the defense is; it's excruciatingly bad. And I would further argue that even with an awful head coach, this team is 1, maybe 2 games better with just a below average defense. Someone posted earlier: Every team turns the ball over, every coach gets undressed from time to time, every team comes out flat every now and again.... but here, because the offense's margin for error is zero, those things get magnified to much greater levels. The defense can't stop *anybody* (save for Rusty Smith).
I guess that's where we differ. I think it's exactly the same thing. In fact, I would argue that retaining a coach after 5 years with that kind of record might even be worse. Yes. I am. It's not like we'd be starting from scratch with a new offense. We already have Pro-Bowlers at the QB, RB, FB (hopefully), WR, and TE. Kubiak isn't the only coach on the planet able to come up with an offense that moves the ball with those players. Yeah, this year it is. Last year, it wasn't this bad. And we were still at 5-7 after 13 weeks. The year before too. And the year before that. I'm judging Kubiak on his entire career with the Texans, not just this year. Not every team is 5-7 for 4 years in a row. Again, I'm not basing my opinion on just this year. Remember last year when the defense was actually somewhat respectable (13th in the NFL in yards per game)? We were still 5-7 after 13 weeks. Just like the previous year. And the year before that.
This was exactly my point about sunk costs. They might be viewed differently, but they shouldn't be. If you wouldn't hire the guy today, you shouldn't want to retain him either.
i don't know man. last time the cookies we had weren't very good. we got new ones, but ric may be scared that they're even worse.
Again, I favor a coaching upgrade. Short of that, I think a FO/DC overhaul is a much more enticing route.
I heard far worse in the final Carr season. But the Boo Birds are flocking. "Fan Appreciation Day" Jan 2nd hosting Jacksonville will be ripe, especially if they are 6-9 and down early.
I hope Bob considered eating the salary a possibility when he extended him. It's not like it was a sure thing that we were going to continue to inch forward after going 9-7. If it makes anyone feel any better, my alma, Texas State, went through a similar situation. Our coaches contract ended after the 2009 season. A lot of fans weren't happy with him but the AD gave him a 3 year extension anyway. The team took another step backwards this year and though everybody wanted the coach gone, nobody believed he would actually be fired because the athletics department is notably stingy. We thought we'd have to wait for him to finish out his contract before finding a new coach. To our surprise, he was fired immediately after the season was over. The team is moving to FBS in 2012 and the administrators knew we couldn't move forward with him as the coach and were not only willing to eat his salary, but are willing to increase the salary for the next coach as well.. I hope the same thing happens with the Texans.
If you really felt this way I doubt you would be making the "but the new staff might be worse" argument.
Heck, man - you don't even have to leave this franchise to find a more germane example: the (I believe 3-year) David Carr extension, which lasted all of one year before they pulled the trigger.
I really feel that way, assuming said candidate is an upgrade over Kubiak. I don't think an unproven, inexperienced college coach or NFL assisstant is necessarily an upgrade.
I don't think *any* coaching hire can be considered a slam dunk. Really successful coaches fail at their later jobs all the time, and unproven coaches do well all the time too. To me, it is an absolute crap shoot. I just have to trust Bob McNair's braintrust to scout the right guy, be he old or new.
I don't think it has to be that starkly black and white. Busting out of the cycle of mediocrity can be tough. Look at the Bills, Browns, Redskins, Lions, Raiders, 49ers, etc. We're on the same page - go big, make a change and bring in the baddest gun on the market. What Ric, I, and some others are saying though is, IF in January we strike out on Cowher (and maybe Gruden, Dungy, or others if you feel they qualify as serious game changers)...don't be in such a hurry to throw everyone out because you run the risk of bringing in a loser retread that literally is no better than Kubiak. Whoever we sign will be locked in for several years, and if you think McNair is loath to pay an unemployed Kubiak, imagine how likely he is to pay 2 unemployed coaches and a new hire if this guy is a schmuck. If you can't bring in a 5-star coach that can run the show, don't bring in a 3-star guy just because you want Kubiak gone. Bring in a 5-star GM, let him restaff the defensive coaches and let him make the call if he wants to replace Kubiak immediately or leave him in place for a season. Either way, we bring in a new "CEO" for the team's operations. We have a new guy running the team. It's critical that guy (coach or GM) be 5-star material. No matter what, Kubiak needs to be on his way out. No matter what, the defensive staff and his input on defensive personnel comes to a complete halt Jan 3rd. Rick Smith, too. Hopefully Kubiak joins them soon after, but I want someone in hand first. If McNair can't accept paying Kubiak as well as a new coach, then I can live with him as a lameduck "HC" for one more season with the other changes in place and a new man in charge upstairs.
We get that. We don't care. A lateral move would be better than no move at all. At least you freaking tried, rather than settling for what you KNOW is a loser. No coach is a sure-fire win hire. Time has shown that over and over again. From former superbowl champs to schlubs off the streets. There is no such thing as a "5 star coach". There is no way to guarantee more success than what we have. The only thing you DO know is that Kubiak is unfit to be a head coach. Simple. Therefore, he should be fired. Period.
I'm just ready for a good leader as a HC. Not a 100% X's and O's guy ... you know, like Kubiak who really only works with one side of the ball and lets a coordinator handle 100% of the other side. I want a head coach that oversees everything, motivates his players, and can make sensible calls and simply manage a game on Sunday's. Hire a proven OC and a proven DC and let them handle the play-calling duties and bulk of the gameplan. Find a proven GM and scouting staff that won't miss on early draft picks. I really like the model KC is using. Proven GM: Pioli Elite coordinators: Crennel and Weis It remains to be seen if Haley is the right HC, but so far so good. He seems to be a leader and motivator more than anything else. I think we need a more proven guy at HC than that, but otherwise their model is ideal.
Exactly. When the primary argument for keeping him is to take away all his personnel power and coaching hire power and make him a glorified Offensive Coordinator with the title of head coach, that's a pretty terrible reason to keep a coach. Is there any head coach in the league that doesn't get the authority to pick their own coaches? I know there are plenty with limited personnel power, but it seems like every coach picks their own staff.
LOL. Maybe not that little of an X's and O's guy. Mack Brown is a salesman and he is very good at it. That doesn't translate to the NFL. As mediocre as Jeff Fisher has been lately, I think he could fit the mold (even though he is a defensive guy). I was against him at first, but I think with a proven offense and a solid GM he can succeed. He hasn't had a legitimate QB in Tennessee since Steve Mcnair's glory days, and even then they weren't a top 5 offense like we have the potential to be. I think if you give him that and put a couple of good coordinators and a GM around him, he will succeed.
