Dissatisfied with the slow development of a defense that features three first-round picks on the line and four first-rounders overall, Texans coach Gary Kubiak fired coordinator Richard Smith and two other defensive assistants Tuesday.

The dismissals of Smith, secondary coach Jon Hoke and defensive line coach Jethro Franklin came after Houston finished 8-8 for the second straight year.

Houston’s offense finished the year ranked third in the NFL, but the defense was 22nd, allowing more than 336 yards per game. Only five teams allowed more points a game than the Texans’ 24.6. There was improvement late in the season, but the defense still didn’t live up to expectations for a unit featuring 2006 top pick Mario Williams.

“My decision is strictly based on when I go over the three-year period, and I look at how we progressed,” Kubiak said of the unit ranked 24th in the league the previous two seasons. “I did not feel good about the progress we’ve made on that side of the ball.”

Cornerback Dunta Robinson, the 10th overall pick in 2004, wasn’t surprised by the moves.

“Sometimes change is needed in order for you to get to where you got to go – in order for your team to be successful,” Robinson told The Associated Press. “I think it’s a good situation. I know how bad (team officials) want to win. So they’ll do whatever it takes and bring the right coaches in here to help our team get to what we’re trying to achieve.”

Kubiak said he would retain assistant defensive backs coach Ray Rhodes, senior defensive assistant Frank Bush and linebackers coach Johnny Holland. He said he’ll interview Bush for the coordinator’s job but will compile a full list of candidates next week. He said he’ll begin conducting interviews the following week.

“I’m going to take my time,” said Kubiak. “This league gets pretty crazy over the next few weeks, so I think it’s important to settle down right now and give some of these guys some time off.”

Smith came to Houston in 2006 after working one year as Miami’s defensive coordinator. Before that, he served two seasons as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach for Detroit.

Hoke had been the Texans’ secondary coach since the team’s inception in 2002. Houston’s pass defense ranked 17th and intercepted only 12 passes in 2008.

Franklin finished his second season with Houston. The Texans’ 25 sacks ranked 27th in the league, though Williams was named to his first Pro Bowl.

Robinson and other players had hinted at discontent with Smith during the season and players were baffled at the defensive struggles on a unit filled with high draft picks.

“We definitely have the talent,” Robinson said. “We feel like we have the talent to go all the way. I think toward the end of the season, the players had the chemistry, but I don’t know if we had it as a whole defensive unit being coaches and players both. I don’t think the chemistry was there between some of the coaches and the players.”

Kubiak took some responsibility for the team’s defensive struggles and said he told Smith the same thing Tuesday morning. The Texans have three first-round draft picks starting on the defensive front – Williams, Amobi Okoye and Travis Johnson – but Kubiak said he and general manager Rick Smith need to assemble more talent.

But Kubiak also told the defensive coordinator he was disappointed in players’ development.

The Texans won five of their last six games, allowing only 18 points per game in that span. They held Tennessee to 281 total yards in a 13-12 win Dec. 14 and allowed only 294 yards against Chicago in the season finale, knocking the Bears out of playoff contention.

But Houston’s sack total was down from 31 in 2007 and the Texans ranked 23rd against the run (122.6 yards per game) after ranking 19th (114.1 yards) in the category last season.

Posted on December 31st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: NFL football news