Chron: Texans' new offensive boss gets message across

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3368491

Texans' new offensive boss gets message across
Some colleagues say conservative reputation is unfair
By JOHN MCCLAIN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Texans offensive coordinator Joe Pendry has a reputation for being so conservative he makes George W. Bush look like Bill Clinton.

Pendry, who replaced the fired Chris Palmer last week, earned that reputation working for three head coaches who were NFL defensive coordinators — Marty Schottenheimer at Kansas City, Dom Capers at Carolina and Wade Phillips at Buffalo.

Some who have worked with Pendry say that reputation is unfair. They point out that he was tagged as a right-wing extremist when it came to play calling while working for Schottenheimer — when the head coach was more conservative than he is now — and for Capers when he was building his first expansion team.

"Joe's a very, very good coordinator," Schottenheimer said last week. "He has as broad an understanding of everything that goes on in an offense as anybody I've been around."

Pendry's first NFL job was coaching running backs under Schottenheimer at Cleveland (1985-88). When Schottenheimer was fired and hired by Kansas City, Pendry followed him and received a promotion.

"To me, the most important thing is that Joe knows how to get his message across," Schottenheimer, now with the Chargers, said during San Diego's preparation for tonight's game against the Giants. "He's a tireless worker who's got that ability to communicate with his the players. They'd better understand that he's a very demanding guy who believes there are certain ways it should be done."

Although quarterback David Carr has regressed in the losses to Buffalo and Pittsburgh and the running game has been ineffective, Schottenheimer is sure he knows what area Pendry went to work on first.

"First and foremost, I imagine Joe's working to get the protection sorted out," Schottenheimer said. "In the passing game, you talk about quarterbacks and receivers, but it begins at the line."

Pendry coached centers and guards the past two seasons and worked closely with Steve Marshall, who coached the tackles. Marshall has taken over the line, and Pendry has taken over an offense that ranks last in points (14), yards (170.5) and sacks allowed (13).

"It's something you don't want to happen because I've been there," Pendry said. "I've been a coordinator, and I've been fired. I understand the production part of the business."


Carolina conservatives
When Pendry coached under Capers at Carolina, they were criticized as being too conservative. They were trying to build a team and protect a young quarterback in Kerry Collins.

"Offensively, I've always felt that you have to do what your personnel dictates," Pendry said. "You talk about vanilla, we were a vanilla offense. I don't remember where we ranked offensively, but I do know that we won 12 games that second season (1996), so I don't really care what our production is as long as there's a W."

After three seasons with Capers, Pendry was allowed to leave for Buffalo, where Phillips gave him free rein over the offense. In 1998, his first season with the Bills, Pendry improved the offense from 25th to sixth. They made the playoffs the first two seasons.

This is Pendry's 19th year as an NFL assistant. In his 10 seasons as an offensive coordinator, his teams have made the playoffs six times.

If you eliminate the Panthers because they were an expansion team and consider what Pendry did with the Chiefs and Bills, his offenses ranked among the top 10 in four of seven seasons.

After Capers fired Palmer and demoted cornerback Phillip Buchanon and outside linebacker Jason Babin, he said every player would be held accountable, including Carr, who has one TD pass, three interceptions and a passer rating of 47.9.

"I think the biggest thing about being held accountable is knowing what you're accountable for," Pendry said. "What's your job? As a coach, I describe what their job is, and I know there's no gray area. They have to realize every now and then they're going to get beat physically, but try never to get beat mentally or technically."

Pendry, who'll be on the sideline on game days, won't coach quarterbacks. That's Greg Roman's duty. But Pendry will be in the meetings and has the freedom to do whatever he believes needs to be done.

"It became apparent to me that it wasn't working, and it's my responsibility to try to do everything I can to make it work," Capers said. "Joe's not going to make any guarantees, but he knows it's got to get better and that we've got to play with greater efficiency."