Official: Texans hire Alex Gibbs (1 Viewer)

[countingcrow]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5440572.html

It's official: Texans hire Alex Gibbs as assistant

By JOHN McCLAIN

Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

The Texans have a new assistant head coach and a new offensive coordinator.

They hired Alex Gibbs as assistant head coach and promoted quarterbacks coach Kyle Shanahan to offensive corodinator.

Gibbs, who retired from the NFL last year after spending three seasons with Atlanta, spent 13 years as the offensive line coach and assistant head coach at Denver when Gary Kubiak was a backup quarterback and offensive coordinator.

"Alex is an outstanding coach, and we're fortunate to get him," Kubiak said. "I'm not sure how long we'll have him, but whether it's one year, two years or longer, we've got to soak up his knowledge of the game.

"I'm excited to have Kyle as the new coordinator. I don't care about his age. I've worked side-by-side with him, and his knowledge of attacking coverages is beyond his years. I think he's going to make an excellent play-caller, too."

Gibbs, 66, replaces Mike Sherman on the staff. Sherman, who was hired by Texas A&M, was assistant head coach/offensive coordinator.

"There's no doubt in my mind that Alex is going to help make us a better team," Kubiak said. "I can promise you that we're going to run the ball better."

Gibbs, who also was being pursued by Kansas City and Baltimore, will oversee everything on offense. He'll work closely with offensive line coach John Benton.

With Gibbs, the Texans will tailor their running game to the zone blocking scheme he put in at Denver and Atlanta. During his three seasons with the Falcons (2004-06), the Falcons led the league in rushing each season.

 

[hauser42]

Kubiak is the playcaller anyways so Kyle only does the in week stuff to get the team prepared. Good way for him to start, Gibbs is a solid teacher and I think team is better than when Sherman was there.

 

[southeastjerome]

I'd love to see them sign Michael Turner.

 

[burd]

wow .. how old is Shanny's kid anyway? Ofcourse they're going to talk about how smart he is despite his age. Otherwise, it would seem that a big reason why he got the promotion was because he's Shanny's son.... which is the REAL reason why he isn't recleating shoes each week. I mean, come on ... there aren't any other qualified people out there aside from ShannyJr?

Kyle as an "assistant" was questionable .... Kyle as an "offensive coordinator" is pretty tough to swallow.

 

[countingcrow]

wow .. how old is Shanny's kid anyway? Ofcourse they're going to talk about how smart he is despite his age. Otherwise, it would seem that a big reason why he got the promotion was because he's Shanny's son.... which is the REAL reason why he isn't recleating shoes each week. I mean, come on ... there aren't any other qualified people out there aside from ShannyJr? Kyle as an "assistant" was questionable .... Kyle as an "offensive coordinator" is pretty tough to swallow.

I believe he is 28 years old.

 

[Warpig]

So does this mean the BeeGees are reuniting?

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Good. I was worried the Chiefs would grab him (as was rumored).

 

[countingcrow]

Good. I was worried the Chiefs would grab him (as was rumored).

And, that would have been a bad thing for the Chiefs, why?

 

[higgins]

I'll be very interested in seeing which FA or rookie RB the Texans pick up this offseason. But, let's keep this on the downlow FBG

 

[moleculo]

good move for Texans. Whom ever they draft @ RB (or Turner) will have some serious value next year.

 

[tombonneau]

Good. I was worried the Chiefs would grab him (as was rumored).

And, that would have been a bad thing for the Chiefs, why?

Um, because the Texans are not in the AFC West? Oh, and they don't have one of the best RBs in the league.

 

[coolnerd]

Soild hiring. Now the Texans nood get LT and a RB,

Yeah, little Shanny is not play calling. While not normal at his age there have been as of late a decent amount of really young coaches moving up quickly. See the Patriots currently, as an example.

 

[GregR_2]

Good. I was worried the Chiefs would grab him (as was rumored).

And, that would have been a bad thing for the Chiefs, why?

Um, because the Texans are not in the AFC West? Oh, and they don't have one of the best RBs in the league.

When a noted Chargers fan like MT says, "I was worried the Chiefs would grab him", that means that it would be a good thing for the Chiefs and thus a bad thing for AFC West rivals... like his favorite team, the Chargers.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Good. I was worried the Chiefs would grab him (as was rumored).

And, that would have been a bad thing for the Chiefs, why?

It would have been fine for the Chiefs. It would have been bad for the rest of the AFC West's defensive linemen's knees.

 

[DawnBTVS]

Kyle was the WR coach in 2006 and QB coach in 2007. He coached with Tampa Bay in 2005/2006 and was "offensive quality control" (??) so I'm curious to see how the offensive gameplan may/may not change, even if Kubiak calls all the plays.

 

[SSOG]

wow .. how old is Shanny's kid anyway? Ofcourse they're going to talk about how smart he is despite his age. Otherwise, it would seem that a big reason why he got the promotion was because he's Shanny's son.... which is the REAL reason why he isn't recleating shoes each week. I mean, come on ... there aren't any other qualified people out there aside from ShannyJr? Kyle as an "assistant" was questionable .... Kyle as an "offensive coordinator" is pretty tough to swallow.

What was questionable as Kyle as an assistant? Are sons not able to know anything about football if their fathers do? Kyle Shanahan managed to work his way up under Gruden before going to Houston and working his way up under Kubiak. Are you saying that Mike Shanahan and John Gruden are such good buddies that Gruden was giving Kyle a free ride, too?Kyle's been working with the receivers in Houston. Houston's receivers have been DRAMATICALLY better since he got there. Perhaps those two items are related?

 

[KnowledgeReignsSupreme]

If there was ever a doubt they were trying to become Denver south before, this erases it.

 

[SSOG]

If there was ever a doubt they were trying to become Denver south before, this erases it.

NTTAWWT

 

[KnowledgeReignsSupreme]

If there was ever a doubt they were trying to become Denver south before, this erases it.

NTTAWWT

Not at all. It's about time SOMEONE started acting like Denver, since Denver sure hasn't recently.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

chance of darius walker getting a shot at the RB job?

Agreen is too old

Dayne a UFA

who else they got? joe eche?

 

[KnowledgeReignsSupreme]

chance of darius walker getting a shot at the RB job?

Agreen is too old

Dayne a UFA

who else they got? joe eche?

Don't see why they wouldn't re-sign him. He's been perfect them.

 

[tombonneau]

Good. I was worried the Chiefs would grab him (as was rumored).

And, that would have been a bad thing for the Chiefs, why?

Um, because the Texans are not in the AFC West? Oh, and they don't have one of the best RBs in the league.

When a noted Chargers fan like MT says, "I was worried the Chiefs would grab him", that means that it would be a good thing for the Chiefs and thus a bad thing for AFC West rivals... like his favorite team, the Chargers.

Think we have some wires crossed. I knew that was what MT meant by his response, and was replying to the other guy replying that it was good he went to Texans for my states reasons. I think my reply just didn't make complete sense as it was didn't fully match up with what the other guy was saying.Morale of the story: Sometimes when you post on football message boards while at work your eyes read faster than your brain and you think one thing and type another.

 

[zed2283]

chance of darius walker getting a shot at the RB job?Agreen is too oldDayne a UFAwho else they got? joe eche?

What about Chris Taylor? He was on IR, is he still on the team?

 

[JaxBill]

Good. I was worried the Chiefs would grab him (as was rumored).

And, that would have been a bad thing for the Chiefs, why?

It would have been fine for the Chiefs. It would have been bad for the rest of the AFC West's defensive linemen's knees.

Yeah, I guess Paul Spicer can schedule his ACL surgery now.

 

[Garts]

I'd love to see them sign Michael Turner.

just thought that myself.Great fit there IMO.

 

[Stewy]

chance of darius walker getting a shot at the RB job?Agreen is too oldDayne a UFAwho else they got? joe eche?

What about Chris Taylor? He was on IR, is he still on the team?

He's still on the team and will probably be battling Darius Walker for a roster spot in training camp (assuming the Texans re-sign Ron Dayne.)

 

[Jason Wood]

So I wonder how Shanny feels about this? Alex Gibbs left Denver a long time ago because the demands of coaching were too much, then he went to ATL and left for the same reason. Now he AND Shanny's son are playing key roles for Shanny's former right hand man in Houston.

 

[GregR_2]

So I wonder how Shanny feels about this? Alex Gibbs left Denver a long time ago because the demands of coaching were too much, then he went to ATL and left for the same reason. Now he AND Shanny's son are playing key roles for Shanny's former right hand man in Houston.

With as much as coaches move around, hopefully it wouldn't be something that would be a problem for people involved to deal with. But then again, being an NFL coach doesn't stop you from being human and a lot of people are prickly enough those kind of things will get to them. See also: Parcells, Bill. Belichick, Bill. Mangini, Eric.One thing I've wondered is the competition committee's reasoning on why they have the legality of cut blocking as it is. From my understanding of it, the difference between a legal one and an illegal one comes down to a few inches difference on the placement of the blockers helmet. If the blocker's helmet is right in front of the guy he's bocking it's legal, if it's off to the side of his leg it's illegal.If that is all the more it takes to drastically increase the probability of injury to where it should be illegal, I'm not sure why not just make it illegal.

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

wow .. how old is Shanny's kid anyway? Ofcourse they're going to talk about how smart he is despite his age. Otherwise, it would seem that a big reason why he got the promotion was because he's Shanny's son.... which is the REAL reason why he isn't recleating shoes each week. I mean, come on ... there aren't any other qualified people out there aside from ShannyJr? Kyle as an "assistant" was questionable .... Kyle as an "offensive coordinator" is pretty tough to swallow.

What was questionable as Kyle as an assistant? Are sons not able to know anything about football if their fathers do? Kyle Shanahan managed to work his way up under Gruden before going to Houston and working his way up under Kubiak. Are you saying that Mike Shanahan and John Gruden are such good buddies that Gruden was giving Kyle a free ride, too?Kyle's been working with the receivers in Houston. Houston's receivers have been DRAMATICALLY better since he got there. Perhaps those two items are related?

Isn't it safe to assume he will only really be OC in title anyway? I'm sure Kubiak still will be running the offense for the most part.

 

[SSOG]

So I wonder how Shanny feels about this? Alex Gibbs left Denver a long time ago because the demands of coaching were too much, then he went to ATL and left for the same reason. Now he AND Shanny's son are playing key roles for Shanny's former right hand man in Houston.

I doubt he minds. Around 2000 or 2001, the demands of coaching became too much, so Gibbs asked to scale down his hours. Denver kept him around as a "special advisor" and he helped train up Rick Dennison as his replacement. Around 2004 or so, he told Shanahan that he wanted to coach full-time again, but Shanahan liked Dennison in the job, so he granted Gibbs an amicable release. Shanny and Kubiak are all very amicable when it comes to each other's staffs, too- Kubiak wanted to take Dennison with him to be his OC, for didn't because it would leave Denver with a gaping hole at the OLine position (that's why Dennison's current title is officially "offensive coordinator" while Heimerdinger is "Assistant Head Coach - Offense"). Apparently, Kubiak wanted Slowik, too. I think Shanny and Kubiak are still very good friends (much like Shanahan and Fisher), so I bet Shanahan's happy that Kubiak got a quality OL coach like Gibbs.A bigger question is how does Gibbs feel about Shanahan. The year after Gibbs left for Atlanta, Shanahan fired his son as DBs coach for insubordination. Can't imagine Gibbs was too happy about that.

wow .. how old is Shanny's kid anyway? Ofcourse they're going to talk about how smart he is despite his age. Otherwise, it would seem that a big reason why he got the promotion was because he's Shanny's son.... which is the REAL reason why he isn't recleating shoes each week. I mean, come on ... there aren't any other qualified people out there aside from ShannyJr? Kyle as an "assistant" was questionable .... Kyle as an "offensive coordinator" is pretty tough to swallow.

What was questionable as Kyle as an assistant? Are sons not able to know anything about football if their fathers do? Kyle Shanahan managed to work his way up under Gruden before going to Houston and working his way up under Kubiak. Are you saying that Mike Shanahan and John Gruden are such good buddies that Gruden was giving Kyle a free ride, too?Kyle's been working with the receivers in Houston. Houston's receivers have been DRAMATICALLY better since he got there. Perhaps those two items are related?

Isn't it safe to assume he will only really be OC in title anyway? I'm sure Kubiak still will be running the offense for the most part.

I don't know if it's safe to say he'll be "OC in title" only. I'm sure he'll have a large amount of say in the day-to-day coordination of the offense. I suspect Kubiak will still handle playcalls (just like Shanahan Sr. handles playcalls in Denver), and I'm sure Kubes still has final say in everything... but that's the role that Shanny plays in Denver, and Kubiak was never "OC in title only" there.

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

So I wonder how Shanny feels about this? Alex Gibbs left Denver a long time ago because the demands of coaching were too much, then he went to ATL and left for the same reason. Now he AND Shanny's son are playing key roles for Shanny's former right hand man in Houston.

I doubt he minds. Around 2000 or 2001, the demands of coaching became too much, so Gibbs asked to scale down his hours. Denver kept him around as a "special advisor" and he helped train up Rick Dennison as his replacement. Around 2004 or so, he told Shanahan that he wanted to coach full-time again, but Shanahan liked Dennison in the job, so he granted Gibbs an amicable release. Shanny and Kubiak are all very amicable when it comes to each other's staffs, too- Kubiak wanted to take Dennison with him to be his OC, for didn't because it would leave Denver with a gaping hole at the OLine position (that's why Dennison's current title is officially "offensive coordinator" while Heimerdinger is "Assistant Head Coach - Offense"). Apparently, Kubiak wanted Slowik, too. I think Shanny and Kubiak are still very good friends (much like Shanahan and Fisher), so I bet Shanahan's happy that Kubiak got a quality OL coach like Gibbs.A bigger question is how does Gibbs feel about Shanahan. The year after Gibbs left for Atlanta, Shanahan fired his son as DBs coach for insubordination. Can't imagine Gibbs was too happy about that.

wow .. how old is Shanny's kid anyway? Ofcourse they're going to talk about how smart he is despite his age. Otherwise, it would seem that a big reason why he got the promotion was because he's Shanny's son.... which is the REAL reason why he isn't recleating shoes each week. I mean, come on ... there aren't any other qualified people out there aside from ShannyJr? Kyle as an "assistant" was questionable .... Kyle as an "offensive coordinator" is pretty tough to swallow.

What was questionable as Kyle as an assistant? Are sons not able to know anything about football if their fathers do? Kyle Shanahan managed to work his way up under Gruden before going to Houston and working his way up under Kubiak. Are you saying that Mike Shanahan and John Gruden are such good buddies that Gruden was giving Kyle a free ride, too?Kyle's been working with the receivers in Houston. Houston's receivers have been DRAMATICALLY better since he got there. Perhaps those two items are related?

Isn't it safe to assume he will only really be OC in title anyway? I'm sure Kubiak still will be running the offense for the most part.

I don't know if it's safe to say he'll be "OC in title" only. I'm sure he'll have a large amount of say in the day-to-day coordination of the offense. I suspect Kubiak will still handle playcalls (just like Shanahan Sr. handles playcalls in Denver), and I'm sure Kubes still has final say in everything... but that's the role that Shanny plays in Denver, and Kubiak was never "OC in title only" there.

I'm just saying it's different than if the HC was defensive coach, where the OC clearly has a much greater responsibility to the teams success. Not suggesting that Kubiak didn't contribute in Denver or that Kyle won't in Houston, but it also not an equivalent role to someone like Martz who has total reign over the offense.

 

[SSOG]

I'm just saying it's different than if the HC was defensive coach, where the OC clearly has a much greater responsibility to the teams success. Not suggesting that Kubiak didn't contribute in Denver or that Kyle won't in Houston, but it also not an equivalent role to someone like Martz who has total reign over the offense.

This is very true. Having Kubiak on the job will make this an ideal first coordinator position.