They Call Him Mr. Gibbs: Texans Replace Sherman

After assistant head coach Mike Sherman left the Texans for College Station and the Texas A&M job, Texans head coach Gary Kubiak was tasked with finding a replacement for the architect of his offense. Though Kubes is himself a former offensive coordinator, he's made a practice of surrounding himself with other top-tier assistants ever since he took the Texans job.

So when word leaked out earlier this week that the Texans were in discussions with Alex Gibbs, they seemed to be following an established pattern of bringing in talented coaches to surround Kubiak. For additional bonus points, Gibbs has a history with the Denver organization, further cementing the Texans' affectionate status as the "Houston Broncos" based on their emulation (in style and personnel) of the Mile High franchise. Continuing the trend, the Texans also promoted quarterbacks coach Kyle Shanahan (son of Bronc's coach Mike) to offensive coordinator.

So after all the speculation, the Texans hired Gibbs today. But who is Alex Gibbs? He's no relation to long-time (and recently retired) Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, but he's made a name for himself as a mastermind of zone blocking offensive lines. The Texans have never really been known for their O-line, to say the least, so there's definitely one area where we can expect Gibbs to leave his stamp. While the Texans have emphasized a man-on-man blocking scheme in the past, they can adapt to a zone system with a smart draft and savvy offseason acquisitions.

Gibbs has a strong track record of success: he presided over Denver's offensive line during the years when the Broncos featured a series of successful running backs, including Terrell Davis, all of whom had room to run behind his blocking schemes. He retired at the end of the 2006 season after three seasons in Atlanta, where Warrick Dunn, T.J. Duckett, and pre-incarceration Michael Vick ran wild as one of the best rushing teams in the NFC. After sitting out a year, Gibbs appears prepared to put his stamp on the Texans offense.

With an already strong aerial game featuring Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels, a strong running game should help take pressure off of Matt Schaub by keeping defenses honest. The Texans' upward swing will take more than just a single hyped player, and the addition of Gibbs show that the team recognizes that and is putting all the pieces in place.

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photo: flickr user mrp1001