Texans History - Head Coaches

Houston Texans History - Coaches: Past to Now
The Building of Bulls on Parade

(And Thoughts of A Fan)

  I'm a very optimistic fan. I understand that it takes a long time to build a good team. There is so much that goes into achieving one that can hold it's own. I also believe that achieving this with an added respect for not only the rules of the game, but honor in how the teammates act makes it wholy more difficult. However, I am a firm believer that with patients from we the fans and supporters it can happen. I personally think the Texans are on the right track. I think the glue that can hold all this together is not only the owner, but the head coach.

 Here is a little history on who, so far, has been in this position for the Texans team. I know, history, Ugh! Bare with me for a while here. In order for us to truly understand what the owner, Mr. Bob McNair, seems to want to see from this team we should understand the history of the backbone of the Texans first. I, too, am just learning more about the history of my team even if I was blessed to be in the Houston area from the beginning of the Oilers dismal departure to just a few months ago after the 2015 season end. So, lets start with the what can be found on the history of the Texans.

Dom Capers - (2001-2006)

  Our first coach was Dom Capers. He had some background with the USFL before he went to the NFL being picked up by the New Orleans Saints. One heck of a work ethic. The man seemed to never sleep, always working. I remember the quiet optimism around the city when he was chosen for our first head coach. He seemed to have extensive knowledge in the defensive avenues of coaching and it truly showed. At the end of the 2002 season, many announcers often mentioned this fact. In the end, his offensive play calling showed that he seemed to be out of the balanced element a head coach seems to need. The calls on offense seemed to be fragile. I remember thinking that much of the offensive players turned to a type of porcelain when they got on the field. No urgency either. However, I thought to myself, "This is a newborn. They will be fragile." To many regards this thought is true. It does take time after all. The first two seasons were brutal, but to be expected in some ways.
 
  By 2004, it was looking better. Nervousness wearing off from the coaches and players. Everyone seemingly to be feeling a bit more relaxed in this new home of theirs. Unfortunately the fragile offense continues into the 2005 season and the wins became far too little and the feeling around the city became gloomy and in January of 2006 Mr. Capers was fired and moved on to the Dolphins back to his defensive roots as a coordinator there. He was good for us; It was good he left when he did. We, fans of a newly birthed team, learned a lot. It separated the faithful to the band-wagoners. It also helped the faithful fans have much tougher skin from when the team started. I know it made me understand my patience much more and also made me realize I was going to be a long term devoted fan.

Gary Kubiak - (2006-2013)

  Gary Kubiak holds the longest-tenured head coach for the Texans to date (2015) and one of my favorite coaches. Hey, I'm an Aggie's granddaughter after all. I have to have faith in them Aggies! We needed the refreshing Kubiak and his skills on the offensive side of the ball. We fans, again held a ligh roar of positive feelings with this choice. He had spent his NFL playing career as John Elway's backup after all. Went to work back at his alma mater as the running back coach for a short while , seemingly mentoring Greg Hill (to whom was picked up by the Chiefs in the first round of the '94 draft) before moving on to the NFL .
 
  In 1994, being the quarterback coach for the 49ers (remember that MVP guy named Steve Young?), went to and won the Super Bowl in his new coaching slot. I think this man knows something.
In '95, he headed back to his NFL playing home, the Denver Broncos, as a double threat. Entering in as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach until 2005. Helping lead the Broncos towards two Super Bowl titles in '97 and '98. He seemed to be an offensive coaching beast! Coaching 14 different Broncos to whom made it to the Pro Bowl. Name drop Terrell Davis! That other MVP guy back in '98! Yeah, he coached him too! What's not to like about this man? The more I learned about Mr. Gary Kubiak, the more I was excited for the upcoming season. So what if he was sort of dormant for the past few years there. Look at his history though! (Texans are my team! I have to be positive! We can win with this guy! ... I'm such a fangirl ...)
 
  In 2006, the Texans finished off in the AFC South with a 6-10 record. There was more work to be done. Then 8-8 in 2007 and again in 2008! Fans were holding their chests a bit higher. The ride was nice, being a Texans fan. What's that sound? I hear wagons in the distance! 2009 ends with a 9-7 finish, missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker with the New York Jets. On February 2, 2010, with a year left on the original deal he signed, the Texans' signed Kubiak to a three-year contract extension through 2012*. (*Wikipedia) 2010, the season with a high start and a cliff drop 6-10 in the end. Goodbye wagons. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out. Porcelain fans shattering again as the dedicated become stronger. The strength was gifted with a 10-6 regular season record and the franchise’s first division crown, playoff berth and playoff win in 2011. Kubiak also being named the AFC Coach of the Year.
 
  2012 started off dismal but bounced back in the end a 12-4 franchise-best. We fans were becoming intoxicated with the thoughts of going to the top and into the Super Bowl. But not once did I hear talks of a dynasty except from some half drunk announcers and fully drunk fans at the occasional bar. All in all, the fans may have been proud and dedicated, but they are far from stupid. Most of us know what it takes to get to the top of the top. This is no easy ride. Nor should it be. We had scares to come in the near future to deal with. We didn't know how frightening it would be at the time. At least we had the tough skin to bare through it when the time came.
 
  2013: The test of a fans faith, the wake up call of a coaches health and the stress of it all falls upon the Texans and Kubiak this year. The year Kubiak has a transient ischemic attack as he was walking off the field at halftime during a game with the Colts. I still remember the concern and panic I had seeing this man drop to one knee and wave someone over, knowing he was in trouble. You just knew in the back of your mind that changes had to come, for Texans and Kubiak, after this. It seemed stressful on him lately if you watched the press conferences. There was more to this. but the average fan really didn't know what it was. That was something for the insiders to know. We, the fans, just wanted it fixed. We wanted him healthy and happy. I did anyhow. Unfortunately the ending of his carrer coaching the Texans ended with three games left in the season. He was fired December 6th with a season record of 2-11. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, son of Bum and longtime friend of Kubiak, took over coaching for the remainder of the season. What a heartbreaking way to watch your coach leave the team. It hit us all hard after so much hope. But, to be honest, his place was with us then. He needed to get back to his Denver roots. He's a better coach for it. I'm still proud of him. he will always be one of my favorite coaches.

Wade Phillips - (2013, 3 games)

  Really not much to say as a head Coach of the Texans. He knew his place there was to be fill in and I think he prefered that it be kept that way. He came in to the Texans as the defensive coordinator in 2011, replacing Frank Bush. He made vast improvements in our defense when he was there. Points allowed, yards per play, yards allowed were all better when he took over. Watt, during this time, was quickly blooming into the well balanced man that he's now become. I have no doubt that Wade Phillips had some part in that. I don't know for sure, but I'd like to think he did anyhow.
 
  On 6 November 2013, the Texans, and Kubiak decided to temporarily hand Phillips the head coaching duties, and named him the interim head coach until Kubiak was medically cleared to return. Exactly one month later, Kubiak was fired after his team had lost 11 games in a row. Once again, Phillips served as interim head coach for the Texans until the end of the season. He's a good man in my book.

Bill O'Brien - (2014 - present)

  What a present he is. O'Brien had previously served as head coach at Penn State and as offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots. So now we seemingly to have become balanced. Not just the defensive "Bull on Parade" anymore. There is a spark to other sides of the team that, I feel, should come to closer to the forefront soon with O' Brien as head coach. He has a lot of experience, 20+ years in fact, that he's brought with him as head coach. Personally, I see this kid-like spark in him that I never saw with our other coaches. I love it too! It's almost as if he's almost constantly having to hold himself back from jumping out on the field and playing. We need that spark of enthusiasm and excitement for our team.
 
  Bill O'Brien began coaching in 1993. Coaching more than a decade in the collegiate ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) wherein 2007 he joined the Patriots. Starting his NFL career there and, in 2011, started serving as their quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. It was short lived however when he moved to Penn State as head coach. Having to deal with the after-effects of that messy scandal up there. He did well with the stress of it all. He led the team to an 8-4 record and got the nations attention when he won the National Coach of the Year Award by ESPN. However, it seems the NFL was not far from his thoughts. However, the man made a good moral choice in staying with Penn State a bit longer. It had to be a difficult decision for him, but a decision this fan respects and is proud of.
 
  On December 29, 2013, he met with the Texans on further discussion of the head coaching job for the Texans. The Texans finished 2–14 in the 2013 NFL season, and owned the first overall selection in the 2014 NFL Draft, which they used on South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. O'Brien was officially introduced as the Texans head coach on January 2, 2014. In his 1st season as the Texans coach, he finished with a 9-7 record, narrowly missing the playoffs.* (*Wikipedia)
I see things coming together a bit more now. No, it's not because of Hard Knocks. That was fun and interesting to watch. I enjoyed it as much as any fan of the team would. However, I see things coming together a bit more because I try hard to learn facts. I put them all in a box and I try my hardest to stand back and look from a distance. What I see now is Bill O'Brien making hard decisions, making them in a timely manner and learning from his mistakes so far. I'm proud of this head coach. I want to see things go well with him and the Texans GM, Rick Smith (to whom I have personal views that I will leave for another day) and hope for a good mutual and respectful relationship between them both.

A Few More Personal Thoughts

  In closing, I worry, yet i'm extremely hopeful for what I see. To me, 2015 is a new birthing of the team in many ways. All the history, as important as it is to know, is behind us and the new seeds are starting to rise from the soil. It's beautiful to watch nature rise from the ground. There is no doubt that I will also feel a similar inspiring awe as we get to watch this franchise bloom into a hearty oak ... filled with mean ass bulls bursting out of the bark with blood on their horns, slobbering foam, snorting fire!!! Yeah! ...
... I mean good guys with tough skins and the knowledge they need to help their fellow teammates to a win they all deserve. And I'll be a proud fan watching their assent, no matter the time it takes.

-I love this team!