One day after the Texans ended the regular season with a victory over Chicago to finish 8-8 for the second consecutive season, coach Gary Kubiak refused to discuss possible changes on his coaching staff.
"I've been meeting with players since 6 this morning," Kubiak said. "We're still going through the evaluation process."
Kubiak said he would like to have back assistant head coach Alex Gibbs, who came out of retirement and signed a one-year contract. Gibbs will let Kubiak know at some point if he wants to return for a second season. Kubiak said he expects to have back Ray Rhodes, the assistant secondary coach who tutored the safeties.
Beginning Sunday - even before the Texans defeated Chicago 31-24 - there were national reports that the defensive staff, particularly coordinator Richard Smith, would be fired. Asked about the reports after the game, Kubiak said he was going through the evaluation process. Asked about Smith today, Kubiak repeated that he's evaluating coaches and going to meet with owner Bob McNair before making decisions on any coaches.
The Texans finished 22nd in defense, including 23rd against the run and 17th against the pass. They also were 27th in points allowed.
In other coaching news, Kubiak made big strides on offense by allowing offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to call an entire game for the first time.
While Shanahan has called plays at times this season, he had never been allowed to call a full game. Kubiak has always made the majority of the calls.
Kubiak said he plans to allow Shanahan to call more games going forward.
"Yeah, you know, I think it's about me getting comfortable," Kubiak said. "I think it's a process. I know I went through it with his dad (Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan). I just got more and more comfortable throughout the season. As I told you, he called a lot of plays throughout the season. I was very comfortable with him doing those types of things. But I just really ... yesterday, like I said, I thought about this Friday and I said I want him to do this. I want him to know he's fixing to do it and I let him know Friday. I know I felt very good about the job he did; the way he went about his business. And it's a comforting feeling for me as we move forward."
