Sherman Hired

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/news_detail.php?PRKey=2398
Sherman completes staff
HoustonTexans.com

HOUSTON – The Houston Texans announce the completion of their 2006 coaching staff. The Texans have hired former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman as the Assistant Head Coach/ Offense. Houston’s 15 coaches average more than nine years of NFL coaching experience. The Texans hired Gary Kubiak on January 26 as their second head coach. Kubiak has assembled a staff of experienced coaches responsible for improving the Texans’ 2-14 mark from a year ago. Here is a look at the Texans coaching staff for the 2006 season:

Gary Kubiak (Head Coach); Mike Sherman (Asst. Head Coach/ Offense); Troy Calhoun (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks); Richard Smith (Defensive Coordinator); Joe Marciano (Special Teams Coordinator); Martin Bayless (Asst. Defensive Backs); John Benton (Offensive Line); Chick Harris (Running Backs); Jon Hoke (Defensive Backs); Johnny Holland (Linebackers); Bob Karmelowicz (Defensive Line); Mike McDaniel (Offensive Assistant); Brian Pariani (Tight Ends); Robert Saleh (Defensive Assistant); Kyle Shanahan (Wide Receivers)

Mike Sherman led the Green Bay Packers to three consecutive NFC North division titles from 2002-2004. Sherman became the Packers head coach in 2000, guiding the team to five winning seasons. His .663 winning percentage (53-27) over his first five years was second only to the great Vince Lombardi in Packers history. Sherman was the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator in 1999. His first stint in Green Bay was from 1997-98; when he was the tight ends/assistant offensive line coach. He spent seven years in College Station as the Texas A&M offensive line coach from 1989-93 and 1995-96.

Troy Calhoun comes to Houston from the Denver Broncos where he was the assistant to the head coach this past season. He enters his fourth year in the NFL and first with the Texans. He was an offensive coordinator at Wake Forest from 2001-02. His Demon Deacons led the Atlantic Coast Conference in total offense in 2002 with 408.1 yards per game. Calhoun’s offense led Wake Forest to a 38-17 win over the Oregon Ducks in the 2002 Seattle Bowl, amassing 497 total yards.

Richard Smith comes to Houston from Miami where he served as the Dolphins defensive coordinator under Nick Saban in 2005. Last season, the Dolphins ranked 18th in the NFL in total defense and finished the season with 49 sacks, second most in the league. Smith returns to Houston, where he was a coach with the Oilers from 1988-92 and coached tight ends, special teams and linebackers. He spent four seasons in Denver from 1993-96 coaching special teams and linebackers.

Under Joe Marciano’s lead, the Texans special teams finished first in the NFL with 2,396 kickoff return yards and were the only team in the NFL to return a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns last season. Houston was fourth in the NFL pinning their opponents inside the 20-yard line 29 times on punts.

Martin Bayless enters his fourth season of coaching in the NFL. He spent the past two seasons as the special teams assistant for the Oakland Raiders. He was a defensive assistant with the Carolina Panthers during their Super Bowl run in 2003. He played in 193 games in 13 years as a defensive back for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins. He posted 12 interceptions, 11.5 sacks and one touchdown during his career.

John Benton spent the past two seasons with the St. Louis Rams. His line opened holes for running back Stephen Jackson to gain more than 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. Rams running backs averaged 1,579 rushing yards during Benton’s two years as the line coach. The season before he arrived, the St. Louis ground attack gained 1,496 yards.

Chick Harris led the Texans to their best rushing seasons in 2004 and 2005, when they averaged 1,849 over the past two seasons. He helped guided running back Domanick Davis to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2003 and 2004. Davis’ 2005 season was cut short due to a knee injury, falling 24 yards short of the 1,000 yard mark for the third time to start his career. Under Harris’ tutelage, the former fourth-round draft pick in 2003 has amassed 4,471 total yards from scrimmage, seventh most in the NFL since his rookie year.

In four seasons with the Texans, Jon Hoke’s defensive backfields have recorded 47 of the team’s 55 interceptions. In their time under Hoke, the Texans have returned five interceptions for touchdowns.

Johnny Holland, hails from Hempstead, texas. He spent his college years at Texas A&M where he played linebacker from 1983-86. He was drafted in the second round by the Green Bay Packers in 1987 and enjoyed a seven-year career before beginning his coaching career with the Packers in 1995. He has worked with the Packers, Seattle Seahawks and most recently with the Detroit Lions. He coached with Texans defensive coordinator Richard Smith in Detroit during the 2003-04 seasons.

Bob Karmelowicz spent the last nine seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs as their defensive line coach. Under his watch, the Chiefs managed to mold Kansas City’s front four into a cohesive unit that consistently got to the quarterback. In recent years, Karmelowicz has fostered the development of defensive end Jared Allen. The former fourth-round pick from Idaho finished his 2004 rookie season with 9.0 sacks, the second-highest mark by a rookie in team history. Karmelowicz’s line totaled 40 of the team’s 51 sacks in 2000, the third-highest tally in Chiefs history.

Brian Pariani returns to the NFL following a year as offensive coordinator at Syracuse University. Prior to his time in central New York, Pariani spent 15 seasons coaching in the NFL. From 1995-2004 he coached alongside Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak as the tight ends coach with the Denver Broncos. Pariani was an offensive assistant with the San Francisco 49ers from 1991-94.

Kyle Shanahan enters his third season in the NFL. He spent the last two seasons as the offensive quality control coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, working closely with the wide receivers. He is a 2003 graduate of the University of Texas where he played wide receiver. Upon graduation, Shanahan was a graduate assistant at UCLA, helping the Bruins to the 2003 Silicon Valley Bowl.
Mike McDaniel comes to Houston from the Denver Broncos where he was an offensive coaching intern for the 2005 AFC West Champions. Robert Saleh spent last season with the Texans as a coaching intern, working closely with the defense.