Now that we've had some time to digest the news that Frank Bush is the new defensive coordinator of your Houston Texans, let's take a look at what Kubes and Bush have to say about the matter. The most interesting snippets:
Kubes:(on why defensive coordinator Frank Bush is the right guy) "Well, doing my homework, studying the guys that are out there, trying to go through things with (owner) Bob (McNair) and with (general manager) Rick (Smith), all my homework kept coming right back to Frank. I just think we’ve got something started here. We don’t want to venture away from our 4-3 scheme and what we’re doing. I love Frank’s ideas and identity and what he sees us being as a football team, a defensive football team. I know he’s a great teacher and a great motivator and a fit right away with the coaches here. So, I think we’re heading in the right direction and Frank keeps us heading in that direction."
(on how long of a process it was) "It’s kind of been going on for the last couple of weeks, since we got finished. I talked to various coaches and studied the people that are out there available and what’s going out around the league. But at the same time, you have to look out for your staff and what’s happening right here in your building. So, just kind of putting all of those things together kept leading right back to (defensive coordinator) Frank (Bush) and really a credit to (owner) Bob (McNair) for us to put it together here today."
(on if defensive coordinator Frank Bush will have a big input on who is hired for the defensive line coach) "Oh, yeah. No doubt. He has a big input on it, all the coaches have. It’s been that way since we got going here. So, I want what’s best for (defensive coordinator) Frank (Bush) and he’s got to be the most comfortable guy with those decisions we make."
(on if he is concerned about defensive coordinator Frank Bush not having experience calling defenses) "About not having called defenses? I really don’t. I think this league is about opportunity. All you have to do is just look around this league at some of the so-called hot coordinators that are getting head coaching opportunities right now. Those guys got started somewhere, and this is Frank’s start. So he’s been around enough good football; he’s surrounded by very good people. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that he’ll call things extremely well and be very successful doing it."
(on how important to this decision was the fact that defensive coordinator Frank Bush is a great communicator and communicates well with the players) "Well, that was part of the process, watching Frank communicate with our players, getting feedback from our players over the course of the last two weeks and what they think of him and what he could bring to our football team in that room added a lot to it. So, I know the players are very excited about the direction we’re heading and that’s the way it should be. We’ve got our responsibility to them first. We’ve got some good young players and we’ve just got to keep moving forward, and I know Frank will get them going in that direction."
Frank "Don't You Dare Ask Me If I'm Kin To Reggie" Bush:
(on how the style of defense is going to be different from what they’ve been playing) "Well, you know what’s going to happen, we’re going to just start to make sure we’ve got all of these kids running around and doing things on the same page. We’re going to be aggressive. We’ll be attacking, but more than anything, we’re going to be a team that communicates. All of our guys are going to be on the same page; everybody is doing the exact same job at the exact same time, and you’ll see more passion in our play. You’ll see guys that fly around and try to get turnovers."
Aggression? What's that?
(on LB DeMeco Ryans saying that he can motivate people with his passion and he grabs attention of the players and what that means to him) "It means a lot. First of all, thanks to DeMeco. I appreciate the compliment, but it means a lot to me because one thing that I like to think I can do with these kids is I can motivate them, I can move them. You try to appeal to them. You want to appeal to something inside or something deeper, their desire to be big, to be great, and that’s what I always try to do. All of these kids have a burning desire to be good. Every one of these kids, they want to see themselves playing in the postseason. They want to see themselves on the big stage. And so you try to appeal to that desire within every kid and try to get them motivated to move in that direction."
You know what? I would have been much more enthusiastic about the hiring if the Texans had led with "DeMeco approves of this decision."
(on what the identity will be with him as the defensive coordinator) "When you speak about identity, that’s developed; that’s developed over time. It’s going to take us a little while to get going, to get our feet on the grass outside and get going, but what you will see early, early and often, is a group that’s attacking, a group that’s aggressive, they’re passionate. You’ll see guys flying around and you’ll see guys having a good time playing the game of football."
If the Texans truly become known as an attacking, aggressive, passionate (zuh?) defense, this hire may just work out. Because what we've seen for the last three (3) seasons is the absolute antithesis of that.
(on playing and coaching under a lot of coordinators and where he got his style of play from) "Several guys. I’ve got a huge, huge quote-unquote circle of influence. There are a lot of guys that kind of influenced the way I kind of see what I’ll be doing. (Former Oilers head coach) Buddy Ryan is a guy, I don’t know if everybody in this room is old enough to remember Buddy Ryan, but some of the things he did back in the day when I was a part of his staff, those guys were aggressive. They got after people. They knocked people down. They were a little bit nasty, and all of the above. I like the way he did things. I’ve got to give credit to (former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator) Greg Robinson in Denver because we put together two Super Bowl teams there, and the things that we did as a defensive staff there, a lot of those things are very, very prominent in my mind. But there are several other guys that have really helped me along the way, helped me kind of create my own particular style as to what I want to get done here."
Could Bush be the new Buddy Ryan? Right down to taking a swing at Kyle Shanahan? We'd lead ESPN for a week with that kind of drama!
(on how the defensive line will be used differently) "You know, we’re going to kind of assess that as we go. But I can tell you this, they will be more attacking, more get up the field and attack off the line of scrimmage. We won’t go sideways. That’s a coaching term, but we won’t go sideways. What we will do is attack and get off the ball and give our kids an opportunity to be aggressive at the start of the play."
My favorite line of the entire press conference is "We won't go sideways." Hear that, Richard Smith?
(on if he feels like he has the right players on defense right now) "You know, we have a lot of good guys in place. (General manager) Rick Smith and those guys have done an excellent job of putting players in the building to give us an opportunity to be successful. But there’s always room for improvement. During that stretch (5-1 to end of the season), what we had is a bunch of guys that were kind of connected. These guys were moving forward together. They were playing with a little bit of passion. They had a sense of urgency, and so we want to kind of grab that moment and move forward from this point and try to create that for the rest of the season."
Very politically correct answer, Mr. Bush. I would have said something to the effect of, "Nope. I'm not naming names, but anyone not named Mario, DeMeco, and/or Dunta should not plan on buying a home in the next few months. I'd rent if I were you. Oh, and Travis Johnson? You should just leave. Now."
(on what he will do to force more turnovers) "Well, I think the first thing you do is you simplify so you get faster. That’s one of the things we’re going to focus on. We’re going to simplify so our guys can play faster. The faster we play, the more times we get big hits. The more big hits we get, the more times that ball will come out, and that’s what we’re going to try to do. We want guys to attack, and I keep using that word, but that’s what we want. We want guys to attack and be violent and create turnovers in that way."
Don't stop using "attack," Frank. We haven't heard that word in so long that we'll never get sick of it.
(on his experience calling defenses) "You know, I haven’t called a defense per se. But you know, I spent three years on the sideline as a special teams coach and called every situation. I was the assistant head coach in Arizona and helped call that defense back then. This is going to be new. This is going to be me with the onus squarely on me. But at the same time, I feel like over the years, I’ve prepared myself for this opportunity."
That first line summarizes why the Texans fan base is so scared of this move. "You know, I haven't called a defense per se." Yikes. Well, what's done is done, and everyone had to start somewhere. Frank Bush has his shot. Let's hope he makes the most of it. The good news is that he really can't do any worse than his predecessor.