With the Houston Texans having fired former head coach Gary Kubiak last week, the usual big names have been flying around as potential candidates for the vacancy. Two of the more popular ones are Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, neither Shanahan nor Gruden are a possibility.
McClain wrote on Sunday night that the Texans “will not try to hire ESPN analyst Jon Gruden” and “won’t be pursuing Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan” even if he is fired after his team’s disappointing 2013 season. Texans owner Bob McNair has said he wants a coach with head-coaching experience and NFL experience, which both Shanahan and Gruden have. Still, it sounds like the team is not interested.
Sports Talk 790 in Houston’s Lance Zierlein reported on Sunday night that there is “no way” the Texans hire Shanahan and that Shanahan’s name is probably being leaked by his own camp.
One candidate who is expected to draw serious interest from the Texans is Lovie Smith, who took a season off this year after being unexpectedly fired by the Chicago Bears. McClain said he expects Smith to be the first candidate the Texans interview. Other candidates include Stanford head coach David Shaw — who worked as a quarterbacks and wide receivers coach for the Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens — and San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.
The Texans are having a horrendous season, but they are only a year removed from the playoffs and have core pieces like JJ Watt and Brian Cushing on what has been an underachieving defensive unit. The job should have plenty of appeal.
