While Gary Kubiak recovers, offensive coordinator Rick Dennison will call plays for Sunday's game against Arizona. Kubiak was the primary play-caller for the offense because "he just liked to get them in and get them out," according to Dennison. The offensive coordinator, now in his fourth year with the Texans, is confident that the system in place will run smoothly in Kubiak's absence.
The normal system had Dennison upstairs in the coaches' box to relay information and plays down to the field. Quarterbacks coach Karl Dorrell and Kubiak would be on the receiving end.
"We're always on the headset together throughout the game," Dennison said. "You can ask anybody that has listened in, it can give you headaches. There are a lot of people talking at certain points in time, but Gary always asks for advice on the next play, next series. Between series, when the defense is playing, we never watch the game. We're always trying to figure out where we're going next. We'll do the same thing. That's what we did the second half. I asked the staff what they liked. I told them what I liked. We'll get a collection of plays and figure out which order and where we want to go."
With Kubiak sidelined, Dennison becomes the primary play caller for the offense. He says after knowing the head coach for 30 years, the two share a very similar game philosophy and the transition should be quick and seamless.
"The process will be the same," Dennison said. "We'll setup all the situations, our 1-10 calls in each of the situations. We'll be able to go out there and operate fast, certainly working with Karl very closely all the time. It will be no problem."
Dennison's view will remain the same as well. He says he will not be joining interim head coach Wade Phillips or Coach Dorrell on the sideline. He prefers to watch the game and call plays from upstairs.
"You can see the coverage," Dennison said. "You can see there are certain advantages, you know, of how a safety is playing that you can find the different spots and what's happening on the backside. There are a lot of eyes up there."
