Wade Phillips is the new DC

[HPF Bob]

It should be noted that Wade Phillips was a former HC in Denver (the one between Reeves and Shanahan) and this was likely around the time Kubiak began coaching with the Broncos, so there is already familiarity between the two.

That said, I still don't like the fact that neither one displays much toughness which is why their teams underachieve, particularly in clutch situations.

OTOH, reports out of SF are that the 49er players were "scared" of Singletary and didn't play well because they were too afraid of his ranting and screaming and became "tight". Singletary's famous coaching introduction where he dropped trou to show his players what he expected of them may not have been his only creative locker room motivator (don't know if he ever ate a worm like his Baylor mentor Grant Teaff did).

Antics aside, give me a coach with Singletary's fire. If players are scared of him, then dangit, they ought to be more motivated, not less. Cry babies.

[TheMatrix31]

Wade Phillips a failure? Yes, as head coach.

As a defensive coordinator? He's proven to be really, really good.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by TheMatrix31

Wade Phillips a failure? Yes, as head coach.

As a defensive coordinator? He's proven to be really, really good.

This is what everyone says, isn't it? It's not true. At least it's not borne out by the facts.

The last time he could be said to have had a very, very good defense as a DC was in Atlanta in 2002. The Falcons' defense the following year was a disaster. His three years in San Diego produced middle of the pack to slightly better defenses. They won games in shootouts with a high flying offense. They beat Cincy his last year 49-41 if I recall correctly. But the most certainly did not have a dominating, Ravens or Steelers style defense. That is what I want, and we are not going to have it. Ever.

And barrett, yes, that is precisely what I am saying. To make the most of the "talent" the team has on defense requires creativity. Beginning with red, white and blue uniforms I have not seen one ounce of creativity out of this franchise. Ever.

[dalemurphy]

Bob McNair loves to oogle the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers franchise hoping to model the Texans after them. He has been attempting to mimick the stability of those organizations for a decade now. I respect that effort. However, those organizations didn’t just decide to be stable and then succeed with the people and philosophy that happened to be in place at the time. It took years and years of searching for the right combination of coaches, scouts, and front office personnel before everything fell in place for them. For Pittsburgh, their dark years were primarily in the 1950s and 1960s. Since Chuck Knoll arrived, they have had a steady and remarkable run. But, plenty of growing pains and lessons were learned by the Rooneys up to that point. Bob Kraft purchased the New England patriots in 1994. While they had some early success, it took seven years and some good fortune (Bledsoe injury, insane officiating, and an odd family squabble between Parcells and Belichek) before they found their footing. If Kraft would have decided simply to be a stable organization during Pete Carroll’s tenure, would they be the exemplary franchise they are now? Smart money would say “no”. Now, having said that, it is interesting to note that Pete Carroll never had a losing season in his three years in New England. Then, when he was replaced with Belichek after his poorest season (8-8), Belichek led the Pats to a 5-11 year. Then the tide turned.

I am not suggesting that, if McNair wants similar success, he should fire Kubiak. I’m generally glad that he didn’t. What does bother me is a growing concern that Bob McNair is so focused on emulating the winning organizations that he is missing the larger picture. The NFL is not a paint-by-numbers endeavor. As I am sure Bob McNair understands most of the time, any organization with hundreds of variables (people) is a complex orchestration. Yet, what I fear is happening is that McNair is working from a two dimensional checklist of a few simplistic observations he has made regarding the Patriots and the Steelers:

1. Organizational stability (check)

2. Seldom paying premium for FAs (check)

3. As an owner, don’t get too involved (check)

and now, this new one:

4. 3-4 defense (check?)

I certainly hope his thinking is not this simplistic. However, with the Wade Phillips hiring imminent even though he has not even interviewed yet, one has to wonder. After all, not only has Wade not interviewed, but I don’t think a single candidate has interviewed (saying hello to Marvin Lewis on the telephone does not qualify). I know that McNair also likes Wade because he has been a successful DC and has had 30 years of experience. Still, though, those are simply labels (like a 3-4 defense is) and don’t speak to the how/why Wade is the best choice to run the Texans’ defense in 2011 under Gary Kubiak and with this scouting department bringing him talent and with Rick Smith running football operations (sort of). Perhaps Wade is the best choice. However, how could McNair/Kubiak/Smith possibly have any idea of that if they haven’t been through an exhaustive process, including interviewing other candidates… or, just sitting down and speaking to Wade for 30 minutes. All that being said, I’m still excited about the Wade hire. Perhaps my expectations have simply been muted the past decade watching the way this organization attempts to run itself.

If Bob McNair really wants his football team modeled after the Patriots and Steelers, this is what is sorely missing from his checklist: job clarity for every single member of the organization and football team. Who’s in charge of decisions around there? Heck, if you listened to Kube’s presser on Monday, it is clear that he’s not even sure. When asked about the defensive coaching search, his response was “Bob has his list. Rick has his list, and I’ll start working on mine”. When he was pressed by Barry Warner regarding who will actually make the final decison, he hemmed and hawed for awhile before laboring to say that “Bob assured me that I will always be comfortable with the coaches on my staff”. Okay, I’m not sure what that means. According to Jerome Solomon, during the last DC search, Rick Smith urged Kubiak to interview multiple people for the job but Kubiak declined. It is also widely believed that Kubiak makes all the calls regarding player personnel on offense but leaves all those decisions regarding the defense to Rick Smith…. that’s odd as well. As alarming as it may be that fans do not know/understand the hierarchy of the organization, what is truly disconcerting is that I don’t think even the Texans know… not just the players but the coaches and even the three top guys (McNair, Smith, Kubiak). This confusion and lack of role definition translates on the field as well and it is this issue, more than any other, that separate the Texans from teams like New England and Pittsburgh.

I don’t have the heart to revive all the old stories of the defensive players under Rick Smith and Frank Bush. If it wasn’t so sad, though, it would be comical to listen to them answer questions about what the defensive philosophy is and what their role is. I remember an interview with Demeco in 2008. Demeco was asked about Richard Smith’s defensive philosophy and Demeco was left grasping at air. Really, really not good considering Demeco is the QB of the defense, a team leader, and a very bright football player. This is the problem. Those guys on defense, particularly, are out there with 11 different ideas of what the defense is about. More than that, they probably have 4 competing thoughts regarding their individual role on that defense. And, I would not be surprised if the DC, the head coach, and the position coach are all contributing to the confusion by feeding them incongruous information. I don’t think this sort of confusion and identity crisis is the intended product of stability.

Meanwhile, examine the Patriots. I’m willing to bet that you could walk up to any of the 53 players on the Pats roster, ask them the team philosophy and their specific role on the team, and you would immediately receive a confident and detailed answer. Breaking that down even further, I would bet each player has a crystal clear understanding of his role for a particular game (and that the role may change week to week). However, ask a Texan defensive player that and you won’t get more than “make plays”. Why? is it because the Texans are more protective of information? no. Simply put, I don’t think the player would know with confidence anything more than that. I believe that, until this changes, the organization is going to be floundering in mediocrity.

All is not lost, though. I think McNair is an intelligent and committed man that is learning from his failures. I also have a lot of faith in Gary Kubiak’s ability to change and grow as a football coach. Finally, I think that Wade Phillips will bring more definition and order to the Texans’ defense. I’m encouraged that the Texans only retained one defensive assistant coach, Bill Kollar (who has worked with Wade in the past). If Wade is able to assemble a staff of his guys, then that will be another step into developing continuity. The defense can build an identity, and the coaches will be better able to define the job/role of each player on the defense.

Texans Bull Blog

[barrett]

Originally Posted by dalemurphy

If Bob McNair really wants his football team modeled after the Patriots and Steelers, this is what is sorely missing from his checklist: job clarity for every single member of the organization and football team. Who’s in charge of decisions around there? Heck, if you listened to Kube’s presser on Monday, it is clear that he’s not even sure. When asked about the defensive coaching search, his response was “Bob has his list. Rick has his list, and I’ll start working on mine”. When he was pressed by Barry Warner regarding who will actually make the final decison, he hemmed and hawed for awhile before laboring to say that “Bob assured me that I will always be comfortable with the coaches on my staff”. Okay, I’m not sure what that means. According to Jerome Solomon, during the last DC search, Rick Smith urged Kubiak to interview multiple people for the job but Kubiak declined. It is also widely believed that Kubiak makes all the calls regarding player personnel on offense but leaves all those decisions regarding the defense to Rick Smith…. that’s odd as well. As alarming as it may be that fans do not know/understand the hierarchy of the organization, what is truly disconcerting is that I don’t think even the Texans know… not just the players but the coaches and even the three top guys (McNair, Smith, Kubiak). This confusion and lack of role definition translates on the field as well and it is this issue, more than any other, that separate the Texans from teams like New England and Pittsburgh.


Texans Bull Blog

There is no organized power structure in New England other than Bill Bellachik has the power. They have no clearly defined roles. This year they didn't even bother to name offensive or defensive coordinators. They have rarely had a GM and usually just have a personnell man that works with Bellachik in an undefined relationship and balance of power. And they have had more turnover in the front office and coaching ranks than any NFL team.

They win based on the three constants in all of those things...Bill Bellachik, Tom Brady, and their Offensive Line. Everything/Everybody else is a movable/expendable part. Well defined roles has little to do with it.

[dalemurphy]

Originally Posted by barrett

There is no organized power structure in New England other than Bill Bellachik has the power. They have no clearly defined roles. This year they didn't even bother to name offensive or defensive coordinators. They have rarely had a GM and usually just have a personnell man that works with Bellachik in an undefined relationship and balance of power. And they have had more turnover in the front office and coaching ranks than any NFL team.

They win based on the three constants in all of those things...Bill Bellachik, Tom Brady, and their Offensive Line. Everything/Everybody else is a movable/expendable part. Well defined roles has little to do with it.

Maybe we are about to argue semantics, but the fact that you are so confident of how they operate/why they are successful drives home my point.

Bill is in charge of all. Tom Brady is clearly the single leader of the team...etc...

More than schematics (and I've heard this from a number of respected football people), Bill's gift is his ability to communicate specific, defined roles to each player for a given game plan. One week, player X will be given a certain set of duties and will clearly understand and perform them on the field, and the following week, he will have a different set of responsibilities but still have comprehension of those and a willingness to fulfill them.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by dalemurphy

Bill is in charge of all. Tom Brady is clearly the single leader of the team...etc...

Bill's gift is his ability to communicate specific, defined roles to each player for a given game plan.

Bill has unique talents to be able to get the most out of his players. His attention to detail is remarkable. He also has the ability to utilize a player's strengths. Defining roles and communicating expectations to players is one of the reasons they respect him so much.

Who could/would cut Randy Moss and expect the team to get better? Who takes Deion Branch and makes him look like a Pro-Bowler? Places WR Troy Brown at CB and passes TD passes to LB Mike Vrabel? Takes a cast-off short white guy and uses him as a weapon (Woodhead, Edleman, Welker). Plays defense with a bunch of rookies and simply has his offense score more points than they allow.

Many have attempted to grab some of the magic by taking coaches associated with him. Crennel, Weiss, McDaniels, Mangini, et. al only to find out that they may have been around greatness, but it didn't rub off.

Now, I wonder what happened between Cleveland and New England. Brady is great, but he won with Cassell too. If we could find the next coach like him, then stability would follow. However, Hall-of-Fame coaches don't just grow on trees.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by dalemurphy

Maybe we are about to argue semantics, but the fact that you are so confident of how they operate/why they are successful drives home my point.

Bill is in charge of all. Tom Brady is clearly the single leader of the team...etc...

More than schematics (and I've heard this from a number of respected football people), Bill's gift is his ability to communicate specific, defined roles to each player for a given game plan. One week, player X will be given a certain set of duties and will clearly understand and perform them on the field, and the following week, he will have a different set of responsibilities but still have comprehension of those and a willingness to fulfill them.

Having a genius be a genius is not a great organizational power structure unless you have a genius. Saying the biggest difference between us and the patriots is well defined roles is false. Bill Bellachik is the difference. We could put Kubiak firmly in charge with the identical role to Bellachik and give everyone else hazy and ever shifting roles like the patriots do. We could do all of this exactly like them and fail. The reason is that what they do only works because he is Bill Bellachik. If you try to act like him without being him you destroy franchises (see Mcdaniels, Josh).

Now if you are saying that New England is good because Bill Bellachik is in charge and we are bad because Gary Kubiak is in charge, you could have saved about 2000 words in doing so. If you really think they are good and we are bad because of the defining of roles, then you are way overcomplicating things.

[TheMatrix31]

Originally Posted by chuck

This is what everyone says, isn't it? It's not true. At least it's not borne out by the facts.

The last time he could be said to have had a very, very good defense as a DC was in Atlanta in 2002. The Falcons' defense the following year was a disaster. His three years in San Diego produced middle of the pack to slightly better defenses. They won games in shootouts with a high flying offense. They beat Cincy his last year 49-41 if I recall correctly. But the most certainly did not have a dominating, Ravens or Steelers style defense. That is what I want, and we are not going to have it. Ever.

If everyone could have that defense, everyone would have it.

Wade Phillips was a Top 2 defensive coordinator available. The other available (interestingly enoguh the coach of the Ravens defense in 2000) re-upped.

We don't need a dominating defense. We need a defense that will not put pressure on our offense to score seven points EVERY trip down. We need a defense that won't allow chunks of yardage every single time they're on the field.

I don't know, man. I'm just not sure what people are expecting. Given the circumstances, Wade Phillips is a great hire.

[painekiller]

Interesting article on the 3-4 defense from the NY times

Bum Phillips and the 1-gap 3-4

To hear Bum Phillips tell it, developing his version of the 3-4 defense wasn’t rocket science.

“Coaching is pretty simple really. If you don’t got something, find something you do got. Really, we didn’t have but one [defensive lineman] – [Hall of Famer] Elvin [Bethea] – until we got Curley [Culp] in the middle of that season. Then we had two. What we did have was four real good linebackers, so all I done was find a way to get our best players on the field.”

Like the Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4 scheme that was taking hold in New England at the same time, Phillips was looking to contain the run and create mismatches in pass rush. Though Phillips based his scheme on the same concepts that the New England coaches did, he favored a more attacking style. He used a number of one-gap techniques in his front seven, stunting and slanting his linemen to cause pressure and using an OLB – “Dr. Doom” Robert Brazile, who was LT before Lawrence Taylor came into the league – frequently as a fourth pass rusher. In many ways, Phillips’s scheme was a 4-3 with four players in a two-point stance.

That attacking style of play has stood the test of time better than the read-and-react style for much the same reason that the 4-3 with an under or over shift has. It allows players to attack the offense, specifically by disguising the defense’s fourth (and fifth or sixth) pass rusher and the coverage behind. In fact, there are a lot of under front concepts in the Phillips 3-4.

In contrast to the true 2-gap 3-4, there’s no clear “bubble” in a 1-gap front. The strongside end slides down in the guard-tackle gap and the nose tackle slants to the weakside center-guard gap. The weakside end may or may not be head-up on the tackle, sometimes aligning in a 5-technique. Moving the defensive lineman just a few inches changes the philosophy entirely. The diagram above shows an under-shifted 3-4, but over-shifted 3-4 fronts are also common.

By comparing the two 3-4 diagrams, it’s easy to see how the mind-set of the defensive linemen differs between the two flavors of 3-4. It’s clear that the two inside linebackers can be, if the linemen are disruptive at all, better protected from the blocks of interior linemen. You can see the lines of attack for a delayed ILB blitz or how each OLB might get a jump by shifting one defensive end to the outside of an offensive tackle.

The under-shifted 3-4 front, with or without a 2-gap end, is just one of many potential variations a coordinator may align for his front seven. In fact, a coach influenced by both flavors of the 3-4 might be tempted to meld both concepts with traditional 4-3 ideas and create a monster playbook with more than 50 fronts. And pull it off with amazing success.

Read the whole article to understand the concepts and the ultimate defense like New England runs.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by painekiller

Interesting article

Read the whole article to understand the concepts and the ultimate defense like New England runs.

Thanks...that was awesome.

Doing a little dot-connecting, I am wondering about the LB and Secondary Coaches that Wade may want. Greg Manusky the D.C. of SF has LB experience in a 3-4, Reggie Herring is the LB coach in Dallas, and Cris Dishman is the Asst. Secondary Coach in S.D. Then, there is Todd Bowles of Miami, but I'm not sure if he'll be available...he may get a H.C. gig someplace or a D.C. job.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by Roy P

Thanks...that was awesome.

Doing a little dot-connecting, I am wondering about the LB and Secondary Coaches that Wade may want. Greg Manusky the D.C. of SF has LB experience in a 3-4, Reggie Herring is the LB coach in Dallas, and Cris Dishman is the Asst. Secondary Coach in S.D. Then, there is Todd Bowles of Miami, but I'm not sure if he'll be available...he may get a H.C. gig someplace or a D.C. job.

Well most likely a few of his Dallas guys would follow him, and I have Dishman on my short list for the DB coach.

[Foo'ball Fool]

Originally Posted by painekiller

Interesting article on the 3-4 defense from the NY times



Read the whole article to understand the concepts and the ultimate defense like New England runs.

PK, Thanks for the link here. I learned a lot from that series. Most anybody that is not directly involved in the game, like me, will learn something if they read it. For those interested, I recommend reading all 7 sections. I couldn't find the last 3 sections from the link above, so I Googled "guide to NFL defenses", opened part 7, and used the links from within the Times blog.

[Joshua]

If you want a blast from the past, here is the thread from 2 years ago on the Texans hiring Bush as the DC -

http://www.inthebullseye.com/forums/...read.php?t=367

Although I'm usually happy to toot my own horn, it actually depressed me to go back and read this (particularly my reservations). What depresses me even more is that the Texans appear to be conducting themselves in essentially the same manner still. Although Wade clearly has the superior resume and has some tangible results which can be pointed to, once again I see a coach and front office with absolutely no experience, much less success, on defense making up their mind before even remotely interviewing or evaluating all potential candidates. The continual failure to exercise even a little due diligence astounds me.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

It should be noted that Wade Phillips was a former HC in Denver (the one between Reeves and Shanahan) and this was likely around the time Kubiak began coaching with the Broncos, so there is already familiarity between the two.

That said, I still don't like the fact that neither one displays much toughness which is why their teams underachieve, particularly in clutch situations.

OTOH, reports out of SF are that the 49er players were "scared" of Singletary and didn't play well because they were too afraid of his ranting and screaming and became "tight". Singletary's famous coaching introduction where he dropped trou to show his players what he expected of them may not have been his only creative locker room motivator (don't know if he ever ate a worm like his Baylor mentor Grant Teaff did).

Antics aside, give me a coach with Singletary's fire. If players are scared of him, then dangit, they ought to be more motivated, not less. Cry babies.

Kubiak would have met Wade back in the 70's when Gary was the ball boy and Wade was the DL coach for the Oilers. The next time they crossed paths Gary was a backup QB and Wade was the DC in Denver back in 1989. Gary played in Denver through 1991 when he retired from playing to go into coaching.

They have not been on the same team since.

As for you guys bitching about position coaches, why don't we wait to see who they hire and also wait to see which players they acquire to install the new defense.

Sounds to me like they will be active in free agency, maybe not going after the huge names but going after solid vets that can play now.

Want to make a huge splash to the players? Trade away Mario and Cushing.

One last prediction I have, Pollard is not resigned

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by painekiller

As for you guys bitching about position coaches, why don't we wait to see who they hire and also wait to see which players they acquire to install the new defense.

Sounds to me like they will be active in free agency, maybe not going after the huge names but going after solid vets that can play now.

Want to make a huge splash to the players? Trade away Mario and Cushing.

One last prediction I have, Pollard is not resigned

I am not 'bitching' about position coaches. I'd like to interview some position coaches for the DC job. The Steelers & Patriots have guys that would meet the requirements of the Rooney Rule and would also bring some ideas to the table. It's nice to get some different opinions on how somebody might best utilize our talent and hearing some philosophical points. I would want to talk to Rob Ryan and Mike Nolan as soon as those situations settle, the new coaches may or may not retain their services. Winston Moss, Darren Perry, Pepper Johnson, John Mitchell, Keith Butler, along with Ryan & Nolan are all guys I'd like to pick their brain.

Free Agency should be used to fortify weak areas on the roster. So, a S, CB, NT should be on the list.

Maybe moving a Cushing, Williams, Pollard, Okoye, Antonio Smith wouldn't be a bad idea if there could be some return. Cushing plays like a mortal without his Performance Enhancers. Okoye has essentially been a bust that we have continued to wait to develop. I'm not sure A. Smith would be a good 3/4 DE or not. There really wasn't much 'good' happening this season defensively, so I'm very open to blowing the whole damn thing up. Fire Bill Kollar too while we're at it.

[cadams]

exactly, my problem is that they don't interview a number of candidates and listen to all the opintion and insight. F-, i hate this sh-t. i need a drink

[HPF Bob]

Just as a point of order, the Rooney Rule only applies to head coaches, not the assistants. Since we've already determined who the head coach is, the Rooney Rule isn't applicable.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Just as a point of order, the Rooney Rule only applies to head coaches, not the assistants. Since we've already determined who the head coach is, the Rooney Rule isn't applicable.

Ah...well, I'd still like to talk to these guys. I wasn't seeking them out because they were Black, I wanted to interview them because they have been successful with the type of defense I'd like to run. They just so happened to be minorities, so I thought I was getting two birds with one stone. Keith Butler is Whiter than I am, by the way.

As for the Hybrid 3/4 4/3, I think it can be done and should be done. Peyton Manning had his worst games against 3/4 teams (Cowboys, Chargers, Patriots, Steelers). It is more difficult to determine who is and isn't rushing the passer. I'd rather have Mark Anderson on the field blitzing instead of Zach Diles attempting to cover Dallas Clark.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by painekiller

Sounds to me like they will be active in free agency, maybe not going after the huge names but going after solid vets that can play now.

Want to make a huge splash to the players? Trade away Mario and Cushing.

One last prediction I have, Pollard is not resigned

I agree about FA, this will likely be their most active offseason in FA by far.
But I think McNair might actually spend some big bucks on a high-profile defensive name because he needs to placate a lot of pissed-off fans unhappy about his retention of Kubiak for atleast another season. If there's a big-time corner or edge-rusher in FA this year, look for Big Bob to dig deep into his jeans.
And if they do go 3-4 both Mario & Cushing, though certainly capable of playing in the 3-4, are both best suited for the 4-3 IMO. I do wonder how marketable Cushing might be because of his now establshed inclination to "over train", and dunno how much uncertainty there might be about Marios full recover from his sports hernia ?
But to your list of vets that might be released, I say add both OD & Jacobey to Pollards name.