Texans defensive coordinator search: Part III

January 2, 1:32 AMHouston Texans ExaminerAlan Burge

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Jerry Gray  (Redskins.com)

Let's talk about Jerry Gray, and a little more about Gregg Williams if you don't mind since it's hard to talk about one without talking about the other. 

But keep in mind that this time Williams and Gray are (theoretically at least) competing for the same job, whereas in the past Gray has been an understudy to Williams for a good part of his career.

The basics on the 46 year old Gray:

• 2006 - Present: Secondary-Cornerbacks coach, Washington Redskins
• 2001-05: Defensive Coordinator, Buffalo Bills
• 1997-2000: Defensive assistant/defensive backs, Tennessee Oilers/Titans
• 1995-96: Defensive backs, Southern Methodist University
• 1985-93: Pro Player, LA Rams, Houston Oilers, and Buccaneers

Gray is already a Texan, having played at the University of Texas and Lubbock Estacado High School. 

Gray is a Gregg Williams/Jeff Fisher protege, serving as defensive coordinator in Buffalo when Williams was head coach there, then remaining there for a few years before joining the Redskins.   Prior to that, Gray worked with Williams and Fisher at Tennessee.

Here's a look at Gray's defensive unit's NFL ranks in points and yards allowed while he was coordinator:

One of the more compelling points in the piece, as we digress about Williams for just a minute, is that he inherited a team that was way over the salary cap, had serious dead money issues, and as a result had to cut several players.

Another key point in the article and something that I failed to mention in Part I of this series is the statement by LaCanfora about the knock against Williams.

LaCanfora writes that "[Williams] is seen by some as an elite coordinator but maybe not a head coach," and "some say his message does not always get through to both sides of the ball."  Okay, we're not looking for a head coach here, so store that away for safe keeping.

Sorry Jerry, back to you.  After all this is about you and not Gregg.

Gray has been known to use a variety of defensive schemes including heavy blitzing - and zone blitzes with man coverage, but he has also run two deep zone schemes depending on the circumstance.

A plus to hiring Gray as defensive coordinator is that he's an experienced coordinator and has had some success.  He also played the game at a high level which may or may not mean anything in terms of his coaching ability but players always seem to respect that.

Gray's success as a coordinator was offset by failure.  His '01-'02 and '05 seasons were just as bad as his '03 and '04 seasons were good. 

It's noteworthy that Gray had players such as Sam Adams, Pat Williams, Aaron Schoebel, Chris Kelsay, London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Lawyer Milloy and Nate Clements playing for him during his tenure.

By the end of '05, Buffalo fans were ready to see Gray hit the road.  The defense collapsed, but the Bills offense was equally bad and probably added to the team's overall dismal performance.

Gray is coming off a very good year in '08 as defensive backs coach at Washington.  His unit was the strength of this season's Redskins defense.  Gray's name has already popped up as a possible head coaching candidate at Detroit.  

This isn't Gray's first rodeo with Bob McNair.  He interviewed for the vacant head coach position the day after Gary Kubiak interviewed in early January, 2006.

All things considered, Gray is a legitimate candidate for the defensive coordinator job.  If he was to get the job, I wonder if he would bring former Oilers #24 Steve Jackson with him to coach the secondary - given Jackson's Purdue ties with Texans GM Rick Smith.

But if it comes down to a choice between Gray and Williams, I would give the edge to Williams because he has more experience as a coordinator (and more 'good' years as such), a Super Bowl credential as a coordinator, and additional experience as a head coach - again, not good experience but we're not hiring a head coach. 

Come to think of it, Jackson could end up here with Williams just as easily as he could with Gray, given their past history together. 

See, I told you that you couldn't talk about one without talking about the other.

Quotable: 

• December 16, 2002, (Pro Football Weekly):  "Speculation has begun about the future of defensive coordinator Jerry Gray in Buffalo. In the face of criticism all season long over Gray’s job, head coach Gregg Williams has said that the problems on defense are not related to the coaching strategies — he believes they are based on players’ mistakes and a lack of talent."
• January 17, 2005, (Pro Football Weekly):   "... we hear that Gray’s desire is to ultimately become an NFL head coach... Gray directed the NFL’s second-ranked defense this season, a unit that improved in both sacks and takeaways. Gray’s attacking, opportunistic scheme hit its stride this season, getting 39 takeaways (15 fumble recoveries and 24 interceptions) after forcing just 18 turnovers in ’03. We hear that Gray, who has risen through the NFL ranks from star player to position coach to coordinator, definitely has what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL but that he still may be a couple of years away from reaching his goal."
• January 23, 2006, (Pro Football Weekly): "Though ex-Bills defensive coordinators Ted Cottrell and Jerry Gray were interested in the [Bills head coaching job after Mike Mularkey resigned], new Bills GM Marv Levy was not interested in them"