Kubiak officially out, Smith staying?
 

LZ tweeted about 15 minutes ago that the word he is getting is that Kubiak is gone and Smith will be retained. I guess we'll find out shortly.

He got that from an agent.....who knows if its accurate.

Here's the tweet:
@LanceZierlein: The word on the agent grapevine is that Rick Smith will remain as GM and be in charge of hiring a new head coach for the Texans

Clearly rumor mill material at this stage, but I would put LZ at the top of the list of knowledgeable, informed and reliable sources. I doubt he would tweet this unless he thought there was a very good chance that it is correct.

I've always thought that Rick Smith was secure in his job. Of course, I thought that Kubiak was, too. Being wrong about one of those is better than being right I suppose.

I guess even McNair can't overlook the fact that his team is in an endless death spiral.

What has Smith shown to deserve being retained? Almost all of their personnel successes have been on offense, where I assume Kubiak had significant input. I have no confidence in his ability to hire a head coach and I don't see the top candidates wanting to be in a position where Smith's in charge of the roster.

I've got a bad feeling about this.

Mortensen of ESPN said that if Kubiak were to be fired that they may look into Mike Sherman. I certainly hope not because we need a defensive minded head coach. Also, I agree that keeping Rick eliminates our chances of getting a high profile coach.

Bob McNair, other owners approve since it means one less team fighting for a playoff spot.

If Kubiak goes, Smith has got to go too. And Grier too for godsakes.

I'd be curious to see who Sherman would like to run the defense...

I still see the status quo at the top spots, Kubiak stays, Smith stays.
O Staff stay fairly in tact.

D is a complete overhaul.
I see a higher end DC coming in, maybe a M Lewis, J Fox, W Phillips type that could be plugged in with the interim tag if/when it comes crashing down next year, again.....

Not saying I agree, just my hunch.

Mike Sherman is not going to leave the Aggies now that they are beginning to turn around. At least I hope so, not because I'm anti-Aggie, but because I think we need one of the take charge types like Cower or Gruden. The lack of a rah-rah (if you will) type of guy is the reason laid back Kubiak wasn't more of a success. And if it is a take charge type of guy we get, Rick Smith will have to go. Come on McNair, be the answer, not the problem here.

If Rick Smith is choosing the next head coach, can we presume the new choice will not be a high profile WHITE head coach? Keep these names in mind: Tony Dungy and Romeo Crennel.

Rah-Rah is not a must.

Guys win with that style, and guys win without it. Accountability is what Kubiak lacks. Accountability is not a personality trait. Dungy was a calm guy who you never saw yelling on the sidelines, but nobody wanted to disappoint him. That is a character trait, not a personality one. And there are plenty of yellers that don't hold there team accountable (singletary with his nobody knows what to expect rants and mood changes). NFL players are professionals about there job, and they need to be treated with respect, but they crave to be held to a high standard as well. Bellachik has no personality and no rah-rah. He walks around in sweaters with a blank stare. But he calmly demands the best of everyone he works with. That is what matters to me. Not whether a guy can eat glass or take charge. And a take charge guy likely comes with an ego that won't want to win with someone else's offense.

So I am fine with laid back or intense, just so long as they demand excellence from every coach and player in the organization.

While I admire what Rick has tried to do since he has been here, that was only in draft evaluation, not the coaches. I think it would be a mistake to put all of the responcibilities of coaching evaluation too. Mcnair should hire an experienced football administrator to head up the whole organization, not pile it on the GM for the football players.

There's a lot of "dead coach walking" talk going around Houston but I've found nothing "official", certainly not from the Texans.

In one way, Kubiak might find the timing right to get out of town. The talk in Denver is that John Elway is going to join the Broncos inner circle as Director of Football Operations and, possibly, as part owner. He would have power over the GM and will be involved in the search for a new head coach.

Dollars to donuts, Elway would want his old roommate and best buddy Kubiak as either head coach or offensive coordinator and who is going to tell John "no"?

So, my belief is that a coaching gig is likely for Kubiak in Denver if he becomes available. Next year at this time, the head coach job won't be available.

From what I know, nothing. But I have heard whispers that Kubiak has more input on personnel decisions, especially draft decisions, than Smith does. Smith denies this, of course, but if it's true that many or all of the shit picks were Kubiak picks then I am potentially less bothered by Smith's staying.

I would love to see him replaced by a seasoned GM or personnel guru, anyone not named Casserly, but once Smith joined the Competition Committee I assumed that he would outlast this coach and probably future coaches as well.

I think because Rick Smith is not white, you can presume the new HC he hires (if Smith is the one who leads that process), will be white though I dunno about his "profile".

I'd say keep an eye on what goes down right after Sunday's game. If there's no word by Monday night, then things might get interesting. If McNair dismisses Kubiak, I think he'll do it with some class and integrity and maybe not as fast as a disgruntled fanbase wishes.... Maybe I'm wrong.... I think if Kubes had been able to win a couple of these last few games, he may have been able to salvage his job but the team is too banged up and there aren't any horses left in the stable and that's partly his doing, too... A year that started off with much promise and sky-high expectations turned into a disaster...

Perhaps they really will go through the whole SOP of "evaluation" that they do with staff every January or perhaps they announce something to that effect. (Note, no comments from McNair lately. I woudn't talk either if I had tried to say something a little positive about the team and the entire fan base had thrown it back in my face.)

As far as Rick Smith goes, isn't he on the NFL competition committee? My understanding is that McNair thinks highly of him and I really don't see him going anywhere...

Replacements that I would love...

Schottenheimer

Gruden

Dungy



Miss Jerry Jones made an astute observation recently. She said "No head coach has ever gone to another team and won a SB." Something to think about.

Who am I kidding? I just want consecutive double digit winning seasons!!!!!

I heard that. Very interesting and it gives some pause to hiring a big name coach.

But how many coaches have won a superbowl total? Maybe 25. How many went on to coach in other places? About a dozen maybe.

And how many coaches total in the superbowl era? Hundreds? A Thousand? I really have no idea.

But the point is the sample size of superbowl coaches who move on is tiny and you really can't draw any conclusions from it.

Well, Schottenheimer has never been to a Super Bowl, much less won one. He has John Elway and Tom Brady to thank for that.