toastedgnome said:
Listening to the podcast interview with taht Texans blogger got me thinking about Gary Kubiak. Many of us diehard Broncos fans still root for Kubes. The Texans are a team on the rise (who play in a brutal division). I always thought and hoped that one day coach Kubiak would take over for Shanahan. So my question to the shark pool is this:Will the Texans end up being a better team than the Broncos in the long run? Shanahan isn't referred to as "mastermind" anymore, how much of that has to do with the loss of Gary Kubiak? Who would you rather have as the head coach of your team, Shanny or Kubes?
As a Broncos fan, there is one thing I attribute the Broncos' current slide to... and that's talent acquisition.In the mid-to-late 90s, Denver acquired LOADS of talent. They got McCaffrey, Rod Smith, Tom Nalen, Dan Neil, Trevor Pryce, Al Wilson, John Mobley, Ian Gold, Terrell Davis, Gary Zimmerman, Mark Schlereth, and so on, and so on, and so on. Pro bowlers, all pros, and borderline HoFers by the fistful. The result of that bonanza was two SB victories, the best 3-year run in NFL history, and the ability to sustain some level of success even after Elway retired.Then the early 2000's hit, and everything went south. Here's a complete list of players acquired by the Broncos between 2000 and 2003 who are still with the team: Ben Hamilton. That's it, and even he might not make the team if his concussion issues don't go well. Now it's 2006, 2007, and those guys are the guys who Denver should be counting on as its veteran core. Denver simply didn't have a veteran core. It was then forced to try to bring in overpriced free agents, none of whom were really core guys... because teams don't let core guys leave in free agency (exception: a lucky break on Lynch not being as washed up as was commonly believed, and a stroke of genius in trading his one core chip in Portis for an even bigger core chip in Bailey).Simply put, the fact that this team is even competitive at a time when the entire talent base it's supposed to be relying on is gone is a testament to Shanahan's coaching skills. I also feel like Denver has turned a corner in talent acquisition, and since 2004 they've steadily been rebuilding their veteran core (D.J. Williams, the late Darrent Williams, Elvis Dumervil, Brandon Marshall, Tony Scheffler, and most importantly, Jay Cutler- these are all guys you can build a team around). In addition, there are several other promising young players with the potential to join that veteran core (Jarvis Moss, Tim Crowder, Marcus Thomas, Ryan Harris, Ryan Clady- you have to think that at least two of the six will make the jump), and there are other young players who were lightly regarded coming out who might be making a name for themselves (starting with Selvin Young). I think in 2-3 years, once Denver has that solid core built up again, we aren't going to be having this conversation anymore. In the meantime, I think Shanahan's still one hell of a coach who is just facing too deep of a hole (which, to be fair, he dug for himself as a front office executive through the most brutal series of drafts at the beginning of the decade that I've seen this side of Detroit).I think the big thing that Kubiak was always known for was mentoring QBs, but even then, he's still just Shanahan's protege. Kubiak's resume consists of getting career years out of Griese, Plummer, and Schaub. Shanahan's resume consists of helping build Elway, Steve Young, and now possibly Jay Cutler into franchise-changers.I still think Kubiak is a hell of a coach, and that he's going to make Houston VERY happy for a very long time... I just think it's premature to discuss whether the student has surpassed the mentor yet.
