HOUSTON — Dissatisfied with the slow development of a defense featuring three first-round picks, 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. Smith was an assistant linebackers coach and then special teams coordinator with Denver from 1993-96,
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.” 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.
“I’m going to take my time,” said Kubiak, who will conduct next week. “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.
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.
