Texans head coach Gary Kubiak spoke to the media after the Texans' final practice of the regular season on Friday. With a chance to go 8-8 for the first time in franchise history, Houston will close out the 2007 season at home on Sunday against the playoff-bound 11-4 Jacksonville Jaguars.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on if there is anything new today) "No, just the quarterback deal. We talked about that yesterday. Sage (Rosenfels) will start. Matt'll (Schaub) be the third going into the game, so don't expect him to be on the field."
(on what he told the players after their last practice of the season) "You know, I shouldn't have to say anything to them. I mean, I can tell there's a lot on their mind; it's the last game of the season, it's the last practice of the year, it's Sherm's (assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Sherman) last practice out here today. We were very sharp mentally. But you know, it is what it is, but we also know how important this weekend is and that doesn't happen for 48 hours. So we're going to find out, but it better be important to everybody who's on that football field and every coach, and I know how important it is to our city and our fans."
(on how hard it is to keep the players focused with only two days left in the season) "How hard is that? Well, let me just say this. When you've got the right people, when you surround yourself with the right people and you're doing it the right way, then those are things you don't worry about. And I believe in the guys we've got on this field. Very disappointed last week, we all were, but I believe in these and what they've been doing all year and how they've been working, and (I'm) expecting them to be at their best this weekend."
(on if assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Sherman had anything special to say to the team today) "No, I don't think he did. I think it's a tough day for him. It might be his last day in pro football, you know, and he's been a big part of what we're doing and the sacrifice that he made two years ago in his coaching career when he was going through a tough time to come here and help us, that's a huge sacrifice that he made. And he's done a great job, so we wish him well and hopefully we send him out the right way."
(on former UCLA coach Karl Dorrell being mentioned as an offensive coordinator candidate) "You know, that came up in my conversation with John (McClain) yesterday, guys. You know, hey, I get calls from all over the place and what direction I'm going to go; that's part of the business. Karl's (Dorrell) a good friend of mine, worked for me. He does a great job, and of course he's out there searching what's the next step for him, so to say that I'll talk to Karl, there's no doubt about that. There are a lot of people that I'll talk to. That's something I'll start to deal with next week."
