The value in all this is not the possibility that Kubiak packs his bag and leaves.... it's that nice guy McNair knows the man has another opportunity immediately that will make him happy. It gives him a landing spot so Bob never has to feel like the bad guy.
Or... the idea that someone else wants Kubiak could convince Bob that he is still the right guy for the job and is just stumbling a little bit.
DENVER -- Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway is expected to become a lead executive in the Denver Broncos' front office by the end of this season, according to league sources who talked to ESPN Sunday. "I'd be very surprised if it didn’t happen," a person with direct knowledge of the situation told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Hours after Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen fired Josh McDaniels last week, he was seen eating dinner with John Elway is likely to join the front office in a position with broad personnel powers, working closely with COO Joe Ellis as team owner Pat Bowlen’s two most trusted men, ESPN reported. Elway already is working as a consultant and adviser to Bowlen. General manager Brian Xanders would keep his job, but with altered responsibilities, according to Schefter. Elway will have say in who the Broncos hire as head coach. 7SPORTS has learned the Broncos would be very interested in Gary Kubiak, currently the head coach of the Houston Texans. Kubiak is a former back-up quarterback to Elway and offensive coordinator under Mike Shanahan. Watch 7SPORTS Sunday for the latest on this story. it's not from the horses mouth(pun fully intended) but getting closer.... linky: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/26107184/detail.html
Wishful thinking on the part of all of you. I just don't see McNair firing Kubiak with the lockout looming. Too much uncertainty not to mention he'll end up paying two coaches to do nothing while the players are locked out. The most likely scenario is that the defensive staff gets a complete overhaul (i.e. fired) with possibly Rick Smith getting shown the door as well. Kubiak will get one last chance next year to show he can get this team over the hump.
The whole "paying two coaches" thing is highly overrated. One home playoff game would more than pay for any new coach's salary, so if the team thinks that it would improve by getting a new coach, the salary is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Besides which, apparently the networks will still be paying money in the event of a lockout, so the team will still be getting revenues and will be eliminating a ton of expenses associated with selling tickets, gameday expenses, etc. All in all, if a team makes a personnel decision because of the lockout, it just says the team is extremely short-sighted and not really committed to putting a quality product on the field.
Lockout or not, no one to blame but himself. "After we finish throwing our 9-7 parade, I'm going to give Kubiak an extension for the "great work" he has done."
Says the guy who doesn't have to write $8-12M worth of checks to the coaches. I think it's a legitimate concern, especially for McNair given his place as one of the leading owners pushing for tougher financial reform. Plus, in the event of a lockout, you're better off maintaining a degree of continuity. A lockout would set a new coach and his staff back significantly that first year. Depending on how long it lasts, he might miss offseason workouts, training camp - critical evaluation and gameplanning time, especially for a new regime. I sincerely doubt they net upwards of $5M/game, and besides, a home playoff game is far from guaranteed, even with improvement. He'd be delaying the decision not canceling it altogether. He has to pay Kubiak, anyway. Give him another year, make changes around him, and see if some of the bounces don't start going your way. Next year is looming as a possible throwaway year, anyway.
I'd forget about the Texans getting that home playoff game if I were you. Not going to happen IMO. As for your 2nd point, I have to disagree. What the looming lockout is doing is to paralyze the decision making process with regards to head coaching changes. Unless the team is DOA (Panthers) or tanking in an embarassing fashion i.e. Dallas, Minny, Denver, you aren't seeing coaching changes. And this team, unlike the Cowboys with Wade, hasn't rolled over and kicked off. They are still playing hard - just aren't getting the wins. I think Justice put it best when he wrote that McNair REALLY REALLY likes Kubiak and wants to see him succeed at all costs. Right now, he is looking for a sliver of a reason to keep Kubiak on. After all it was McNair who gave Kubiak that extension last year so I really can't see he reversing course a year later just because the Texans finish 8-8 or 9-7. You and I may see that as making no progress while McNair is thinking that Kubiak is close to breaking through.
Like EVERYONE has said numerous times, the texans are the 10th most valuable sports franchise in the WORLD. 10 million bucks is pennies
what about 7-9 (which is the way I think they'll finish)...where then? what do you think happens if they finish 7-9?
We are in agreement here. If you look at this situation without emotion (or angst), the case for keeping Kubiak around for one last year is almost obvious especially when you take into consideration just how much McNair REALLY likes Gary K. But by all means, get him out of the personnel decision making process pronto.
Part of the reason they are so valuable is because Mcnair is a penny pincher. That's a great thing from a business perspective, but it definitely causes them to take less risks. If there is any doubt about spending money on something, they aren't going to do it. So, my guess is that they won't want to pay two coaches with a lockout impending. Kubiak is here another year unless he up and leaves for Denver. If things really get bad, starting with a loss tonight and another loss or two over the final three, I could see Mcnair brining in another "advisor" of some sort to help oversee things for a while and maybe take some front office power
