Official Search for a New Defensive Coordinator Thread - Bush Hired!
 

Seems some of our hopes for Gray returning to Houston are possibly shared by Gray himself, assuming he isn't offered any HC opportunities.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/red...edskinsinsider

As I posted in another thread, I think Gray might be the ideal candidate for the Texans if Kubiak doesn't just give the job to Frank Bush. Gray interviewed here for the HC job when it was awarded to Kubiak, and he has had documented success as a DC on his resume.

The Steve Jackson speculation is also interesting... I'm sure many of us remember him from the Oilers. Jackson was a CB at Purdue, which I think must be the reason behind the comment on his ties to the front office. GM Rick Smith was his teammate at safety.

http://www.redskins.com/gen/coaches/Jerry_Gray.jsp

"From 2001-05, Gray served as defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills.

In 2004, Gray led a defense that finished in the top five in the NFL in touchdowns allowed (29), yards allowed per game (264.2), passing yards allowed per game (164.0) and sacks registered (45). The unit led the league with 39 turnovers forced.

In 2003, Gray’s defense finished the year ranked second in the NFL in total defense, second against the pass and eighth against the run.

Prior to his time in Buffalo, Gray served four seasons as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans, including the last two as defensive backs coach. He helped Tennessee finish No. 1 in total defense and pass defense in 2000."

So why did he take the job as a secondary coach if he was so successful as a DC? All joking to the side.

A couple reasons. First, as good as Gray's defenses were with the Bills in 2003 and 2004, they weren't so hot in 2005.

Second, Gray tried to become a HC, and notably lost to Kubiak here for that opportunity. He then interviewed to be the DC in Green Bay, but that job went to someone else. I think the coaching musical chairs were nearing the end by the time Kubiak was hired in 2006.

Lastly, Gregg Williams in Washington wanted him back. Gray had worked with Williams in Tennessee and again in Buffalo. Plus, I am guessing Dan Snyder probably was willing to pay Gray like a DC to be his DB coach.

Wasn't Greg Williams the DC for the Hags last year? Isn't he out of a job this year? Why not Greg Williams for our DC? He certainly seems to have the pedigree, it just remains do the Texans want him, and at what price? He won't come cheap!

Your leaving off a fact, Gregg Williams was the DC of Tennessee when he was hired to be the HC of Buffalo, he brought Gray, his DB coach from Tennessee to be his DC in Buffalo. When Williams was fired, and picked up by Washington Williams hired Gray as Gray's last option. Gray had interviewed for the HC position with us, and we decided late and most of the gigs where gone.

Williams and Gray's movement is normal, Williams likes his position coaches, Gray likes to work with Williams. But Gray has earned the right to be DC without Williams.

Gray is a victim of the very thing that keep Kubiak from being hired as a HC before. They worked under a person that was considered a genius on there side of the ball, so was it the HC or the coordinator he did the job.

Gray's become my favorite for the position. Second to him in Coyer. I also wouldn't mind Marinelli.

I really don't want Bush though, I want some fresh blood and I want someone with success on their resume.

I think I'd rather have Gray by himself or maybe accompanied by Steve Jackson who has the title of "Passing Game - Safteties" coach. Maybe if he were the "Entire Secondary" coach here, it would be considered as a promotion.

As for the Hags, they have Donnie Henderson on their staff. I like that guy.

I'm still waiting to see what the Bears are offering Marinelli.

Marinlli would improve the defensive line for sure. Gray, I'm not too sure about. He wanted to be a HC when Kubes got the job. He is still a position coach with Washington 3 years later.

Sean McDermott
 

I heard Sean McDermott sounds a good option as well.
Here's an excellent comparison of some of the possibilities done by Matt in DGDB&D.
http://www.atexansblog.com/2009/01/0...abbit-coaches/

McDermott is my top choice by far. DGDB&D basically summed up my opinion on how our defense should look with this post.


http://www.atexansblog.com/2008/06/1...ensive-theory/

Anybody else growing slightly concerned that the regular season has been over for almost 2 weeks and we still haven't heard of any coordinators even being scheduled to interview here. I mean, Williams and Gray (and every other coach that was on a team that didn't make the playoffs) were free to interview almost 2 weeks ago. I was certainly hoping we would be a little more proactive in our search. For instance, Profootballtalk is reporting that Nolan is close to getting the Packers' D coordinator job.

The Texans should have had a short list of candidates and if any of them were on staffs that did not make the playoffs, they should have been moving on evaluating them. Now, maybe they are doing this and it's just not being reported but I find it hard to believe that someone in Houston or in the city where the coach is currently on staff wouldn't have leaked this.

No, I'm not concerned at all. Maybe they're waiting for McDermott or someone currently on staff with a playoff team. They may not be interested in Williams or Gray, and if that's the case, why bring them in?

I'm not concerned about it. The Texans are pretty good about keeping things under wraps. I do have a feeling that Bush is getting the job. That is based on absolutely nothing....although McClain's piece about the search sounded a little like an attempt to soften the blow when Bush is hired. The chronicles never disguised a public relations piece for the Texans as actual jounralism have they? Seriously, I just have a gut feeling that it's going to be Bush.

McDermott and Gray would be my top choices, but I'm fine with Bush and would actually prefer him to some of the other names being tossed around.

Not at all, KubiaK said he was taking a week off and then compiling the list of canidates. Now if we still do not have a DC by the Pro Bowl, then panic.

I wouldn't have a huge problem with Bush, I guess. However, I'd be a bit disappointed and really feel this team needs to bring in some fresh blood. Most of my disappointment or displeasure with it would come from the fact that if you're going to go with a guy that was already on staff (let alone one you had already flagged to be the DC), then why the hell didn't you make the move at the beginning of the season or when things were really bad? It's not like the Texans defense was anything special last year, and in fact they sucked and most media/fans were already on Richard Smith's ass for it. If you have that much confidence in the guy (Bush) to give him the job now, well then the move should have been made before the season. I say bring in a fresh, new approach.

Well, this sort of bothers me too. It's not like Smith's firing came out of the blue or was based on anything he did in the last month of the season. Hell, a lot of people thought he may have saved his job during the last 6 weeks. Kubiak had to know by midseason that a change was likely. If so, why is he waiting until after a week's vacation to start compiling a list of replacements? What if after this week off and he starts putting together this list he discovers that Mike Nolan would be a good fit? Well, it's too late because Nolan was hired by the Packers while he was on vacation. And if you have staff to fill and want to get your pick of the litter, why are you vacationing now?

Now, I see I'm clearly in the minority on this and most don't have a problem with it. Also, I agree with those who think the coaching search is probably just a smokescreen before hiring Bush. However, if they are serious about looking outside the organization, you're telling me there isn't a single coach on any team that either didn't make the playoffs or lost in the first round that is worth at least bringing in and taking a look at? I find that hard to believe as well as showing a lack of due diligence. Maybe they prefer someone currently still in the playoffs. That's great and they should interview them when they can but that shouldn't stop them from pursuing other avenues at the same time. Clearly, other teams are already on the move to fill their vacancies. The Texans aren't and I don't see any way this could be viewed as a positive. Best case scenario is that it ultimately doesn't impact who we hire. But when the only outcomes are either negative or neutral, that's not good business.

As for keeping it under wraps, I just don't believe this is likely at all. Not only would the Texans have to keep it quiet but so would the coach being interviewed (and his family and friends) and the team he is currently with. Throw on top of this the notion that no one saw him at the facility, airport, restaurant around town, etc. I just can't believe that candidates have come to town to interview and literally no one knew about it.

To further my point, this article indicates that the Bears may be close to signing Marinelli as their defensive line coach -

http://www.freep.com/article/2009010...46/1048/sports

Now, Lovie Smith and Marinelli are friends and maybe the Texans would not have had a shot, but Marinelli is considered one of the best D line coaches in the business. Do you really think it is to the Texans' advantage to have their head coach on vacation, then come back and compile a list of candidates (which presumably will take some time as well), and then start the interview process? All the while, teams like the Bears are on the move and wooing potential candidates like Marinelli? How is it good for the Texans if Marinelli is hired by another team before Kubiak even sits down to decide whether he is a good fit?

In all likelyhood they have no interest in running a Tampa 2 system.... If that is the case, why would you even consider a coach that would bring in and instill that type of defense.

If that's the case, then I'll be more than happy. Just because nobody has seen a potential coach at the airport, that doesn't mean that Rick Smith and Kubiak haven't made any phone calls to let potential candidates know that they are interested in their services.

Because he is being hired as the D line coach, not the D coordinator so he wouldn't be the one deciding what defense to run. Since he is considered by many to be the best D line coach in football and we have 2 underperforming 1st rounders on our D line, tell me why we shouldn't at least be considering him for our vacancy at D line coach.

And maybe I'm going about it wrong by bringing up specific candidates. Forget Marinelli (or Gray or Williams) or any other specific candidate. I want someone to tell me why it is beneficial for the Texans to have their coach taking a week off while other teams are interviewing candidates before he even sits down to determine who his candidates are. It's that simple. If you can't tell me why it's good, rather than why it may not ultimately hurt us, I just don't think that's good enough.

I don't disagree with this and I hope you're right, but in my opinion, serious candidates are generally brought in. Also, if Painekiller's information is correct, Kubiak wasn't even going to assemble a list of potential candidates until after his vacation. Hard to call people when you're coach is on vacation and hasn't provided a list of possibilities yet.

I thought you were referring to bringing him in as a defensive cooridinator. In any case... who knows why they didn't bring him in for an interview. Maybe they didn't want the stench of an 0-16 coach on this staff.

I think this a case of reading to much into a soundbite. I'm sure Kubiak has had a list for a while, and I would bet that there has been at least some contact made...even if only through back channels. The Texans could have easily contacted 10 different guys and not brought them into town for interviews. I'm sure McNair has access to private jets. The chronicle is not known for it's tough investigative style...they just repeat what the PR guy tells them. My point is just because we haven't heard anything doesn't mean anything.

Just because another team hires someone who's name might have appeared in the blog-o-sphere as a potential candidate doesn't mean that the Texans were ever interested....or that the coach told the team that he wasn't interested. I'm sure that if we hired someone today, there would be a contigentcy fans complaining that we didn't take our time and that we should have waited to interview candidates from teams in the playoffs. All we can do is wait and see...

Not trying to pick on you, Gunn, but, if Painekiller's info. is correct, we know why we didn't bring him in yet. Because Kubiak took a vacation and is just now deciding on who he wants to interview. In short, Marinelli may be off the market before Kubes even decided if he should interview him. As for the "stench" comment, nothing but speculation and if it were true, would be an indictment of this coaching staff. Also, anyone can make up a speculative reason for why any 1 particular candidate hasn't been interviewed and it gets us nowhere. I go back to my original question - Tell me why it is to the Texans' advantage to have their head coach take a week off before even beginning the process of deciding who to interview when other teams are moving on candidates.

This is probably being blown out of proportion, but the bottom line is that 2 of the generally considered best available defensive coaches (Marinelli and Nolan) are probably going to be off the market before the Texans decide who they want to interview. I don't see how any of you can think this is a good thing.

Joshua - valid question, but something else to consider... it would be in Nolan's and Marinelli's best interests (or anyone else's that might consider working for Kubiak) to at least call the Texans before accepting an offer from another team. If nothing else, the Texans could be used as leverage for those guys to negotiate a better salary.

And along the lines of what papabear said, unless someone tips off Mark Berman to head to the baggage claim at IAH, there is no telling what's happening 'behind the scenes' since we seem to have an otherwise passive sports news media in Houston. Also, if Gray or anyone else was interested in coming here, I imagine like a lot of job seekers his resume would already be on Kubiak's desk, vacation or not.

Good points and I'm not actually as fired up about this as I'm coming across in my postings. However, I do think it's weird that we haven't heard a single name trickle out (other than Bush), much less confirmation of any contact/permission to talk to/interviews with any candidates. Add to this the fact that Kubes said he would take a week off and then decide who to interview and I'm not thrilled with what I'm hearing about our D coordinator search.

Maybe it's just the pessimist in me that the Texans have turned me into, but this isn't the first time that the Texans have moved in ways that made me scratch my head. The first couple times I thought, "They're professionals, I'm sure there's some reason for it that I just don't know or understand." Come to find out, there wasn't and their moves were, in fact, just as baffling as I originally suspected. Thus, when they behave in ways that make no sense to me, I'm less inclined now to wholesale speculate just to try and craft some answer which gives them the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not saying that your not right Joshua, only that all we're getting is one sound bite of Kubiak saying that he's going to take the week off....there's plenty of people who's idea of a week off is not being in the office for normal hours, and spending the whole time on the phone or computer calling/emailing about work. I am most definitely not one of those people, but Kubiak could be...and since he's an NFL coache he probably is.

I suspect you're right. I guess my complaint can be boiled down to this. I haven't seen any concrete information of anything the Texans are doing to fill the D coordinator position. I was hoping the team would take an aggressive and proactive approach to filling the position, as well as pursuing a number of candidates and getting outside Kube's comfort zone of guys he's previously worked with to ensure the best fit. I have seen nothing to indicate they are doing this and what little info. I've found suggests they are not. This is disappointing to me.

Very true.

I kind of took Kubiak's soundbite to mean, don't bother me for another couple of weeks until I'm ready to tell you what I've decided.

Interviews and lists of candidates are distracting. If early word gets out as to who might be the top choice and that falls through, then the guy you end up with feels like he was not REALLY the one you wanted.

This is analogous to not telling the girl you took to the prom that the first 3 you asked turned you down.

Kubiak may be wanting to take a good hard look at what he has on defense and how he might want to see it used in the future. Perhaps we ought to be thankful that he's doing his homework before jumping into interviews. He may figure that a Tampa-2 or a 3-4 Defensive Coordinator might be a step in the wrong direction.

He might not to want to mix and match parts either. While Marinelli is being hired as a DLine coach, it's for Chicago, and they run the Tampa-2. If, Kubiak wanted to run a more attacking defense like the Eagles or Giants, then Marinelli's coaching would be the wrong techniques. Imagine bringing in Alex Gibbs to be the OL coach and tell him you wanted to run a mauling man blocking scheme. That would be a waste and not putting your coaches and players in a position to succeed. Also, he may be willing to allow the new Defensive Coordinator to pick his own asssistant coaches (at least replace the fired ones).

I was doing some investigating on who we might consider. The Eagles' Jim Johnson is my guru, so I'm hoping for Sean McDermott. He might be able to bring along Otis Smith to be the Secondary coach. Perhaps Mike Caldwell could come along too. Their Special Teams Coordinator, Rory Segrest worked with Pete Jenkins at Auburn as a DL coach.

McD - http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/te...sp?coach_id=10
Otis Smith - http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/te...sp?coach_id=22
Caldwell - http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/te...sp?coach_id=25
Segrest - http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/te...asp?coach_id=4

Another option for the DLine coach... I might have to pilfer from the Panthers.

Sam Mills III is the Defensive Quality Control coach and works with DL coach Sal Sunseri. The Defensive Coordinator, Mike Trgovac, was the DL coach in Philly in 1998, when McDermott started with the Eagles.

http://www.panthers.com/Team/CoachBio.aspx?id=1936

http://www.panthers.com/Team/CoachBio.aspx?id=2130

You know Kubiak taking a week off when he has not had a day off since early July does not bother me.

His sons are home from school this week and he can spend time with them this week. I do not have a problem with that. Kubiak has a pretty big rolodex as any NFL coach who has done this for as long as he has many "friend" I am sure he is catching up with this week. Just because we have not heard a thing does not mean a thing.

Relax.

As for Marinelli, I thought he would end up in Chicago or Indy, so him being reportedly offered a position with one them is a non story.

McDermott would be a prize catch, IMO. But since he has been with the Eagles for 10 years, it might be hard to pry him away.

I'm sure Rick Smith has been on the phone whether Kubiak has or not. Also, most of the names with the exception of Marinelli have been somewhat rumored to be consideration for head coaching positions. As for McDermott, when Philly falls he may be the hottest name out there including head coaching rumors.

I agree that McDermott appears to be a good candidate and if he ultimately gets the job, I'll be happy with the hire and all of my anxiety will prove to be unfounded. With any luck, this is what will transpire.

However, I really feel like the potential list of candidates is growing increasingly smaller. Looks like Nolan and Marinelli are gone. If either Williams or Gray were on the top of the Texans' list, I suspect we would have heard about it by now (I just don't recall coaching searches to have the level of secrecy as, say, draft boards). To me, it is looking more and more like we will go with Bush. Now, he may turn out to be a great D coordinator, but he simply does not have anything in his resume to suggest he will be (at least some of the other guys have proven themselves previously). If Bush gets the job, I think we're basically relying on Kubiak's belief that he will develop into a great coordinator, but there's not much else to suggest that. I like Kubes and he has done wonders with the offense, but the bottom line is during his tenure the Texans defense has been not only bad, but historically bad (Stephanie Stradley's blog on chron.com has some posts showing how the Texans' defense over the last 3 years has been one of the worst 3 year performances in league history).

Now, I'm hoping for the best and if Bush is the guy, I'll certainly give him a chance to prove himself. However, I can't help but be nervous if a self-admitted offensive coach who has presided over one of the worst defenses around simply elevates one of his buddies who, on paper, doesn't appear as qualified as numerous other candidates. In other words, I have no problem extending Kubiak a little blind loyalty when it comes to offensive decisions. However, defensively, his track record is terrible, no way around it, and thus, I can't blindly accept his choice if the candidate's resume doesn't match.

I think you have hit the nail on the head with this one. I think kubiak wants bush as DC and he is holding off for the big names to be gone so he can say that bush was the most qualified candidate interviewed.*


*hopefully i am way off on this

Kubiak knows he's on a short leash. He's well aware that the strong finish saved his job this year, but he knows he needs to make the playoffs if he wants to stick around. I think he's going to get someone he believes will make an impact, and sooner rather than later.

I truly hope you are correct

I agree with Joshua on this whole week off thing. The Texans should have already done some interviews with available candidates. This would allow you to move quickly when someone like Sean McDermott becomes available. How many times have you seen a coach or free agent go to a team for an interview and never leave. Alot of times they get signed without ever making it to the other teams on their list. You snooze you lose in the NFL.

Now we're talking. Marinelli is in town to interview for either the DC or D line position.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6200476.html

Whether he proves to be the guy or not, I'm just glad that there is some indication that the Texans search is moving forward.

On other fronts, the Saints fired their D coordinator yesterday and are interviewing Gregg Williams for the job today.