Shanahan promoted to OC; Gibbs named asst. HC

[NinersLacking]

It's official: Texans hire Alex Gibbs as assistant

By JOHN McCLAIN
Houston Chronicle

The Texans have a new assistant head coach and a new offensive coordinator.

They hired Alex Gibbs as assistant head coach and promoted quarterbacks coach Kyle Shanahan to offensive corodinator.

Gibbs, who retired from the NFL last year after spending three seasons with Atlanta, spent 13 years as the offensive line coach and assistant head coach at Denver when Gary Kubiak was a backup quarterback and offensive coordinator.

"Alex is an outstanding coach, and we're fortunate to get him," Kubiak said. "I'm not sure how long we'll have him, but whether it's one year, two years or longer, we've got to soak up his knowledge of the game.

"I'm excited to have Kyle as the new coordinator. I don't care about his age. I've worked side-by-side with him, and his knowledge of attacking coverages is beyond his years. I think he's going to make an excellent play-caller, too."

Gibbs, 66, replaces Mike Sherman on the staff. Sherman, who was hired by Texas A&M, was assistant head coach/offensive coordinator.

"There's no doubt in my mind that Alex is going to help make us a better team," Kubiak said. "I can promise you that we're going to run the ball better."

Gibbs, who also was being pursued by Kansas City and Baltimore, will oversee everything on offense. He'll work closely with offensive line coach John Benton.

With Gibbs, the Texans will tailor their running game to the zone blocking scheme he put in at Denver and Atlanta. During his three seasons with the Falcons (2004-06), the Falcons led the league in rushing each season.