Texans defensive coordinator search: Part IV

January 3, 7:28 AMHouston Texans ExaminerAlan Burge

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Houston Texans Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Frank Bush (houstontexans.com)

It's time to talk about the guy who has an inside shot at the Texans defensive coordinator position.  And by inside we're talking about a guy who's already here among us. 

Frank Bush.

Bush is a bit of an obscure fellow to most of us on the outside.  You rarely see a quote from him in the paper.  You rarely see him interviewed on television or hear him on the radio.

When you "Google Image" Frank Bush, there are more pictures of Reggie Bush, George Bush, and Frank Caliendo on the hit page as there are of Frank Bush.

For the past two seasons his role as senior defensive assistant was ... to oversee the entire defense.  But the front seven was his focus and is his specialty.

You saw him on the practice field during training camp working with Jethro Franklin and the defensive line.  Sometimes he'd play 'good cop' after one of the linemen received a wire brushing from Franklin.

At other times you'd see him working with Johnny Holland and the linebackers.  That's not surprising since as they say, you can take the linebacker out of the game but you can't take the game out of the linebacker.

Yes, he's been in the shadows for a while, but he may be on the verge of taking a big and long-awaited career step.

Bush was drafted by the Houston Oilers in 1985.  He was part of the same draft class that brought us Ray Childress.  He and Childress were named to the UPI All Rookie team that year and his future as an NFL linebacker was bright - until Week 3 of the 1986 season when he received a serious neck injury at KC after tackling Chiefs running back Mike Pruitt.

It would be the last tackle of Bush's playing career.

Medical exams following Bush's injury revealed a previously unknown spinal condition that put him at much higher risk for paralysis if he should sustain another neck injury.  Neurological and orthopedic specialists all recommended that Bush retire - which he did - at age 23 after playing in only 19 NFL games.

But Bush didn't fade away, far from it, and the words he spoke 22 years ago now seem to be coming around full circle.  "At first I thought about being bitter," said Bush, "but I'm 23 years old, and there's a lot of things I can do," he said. "I realize that God closes some doors, but he opens others."

I guess it's fear of the unknown that has fans a bit nervous about Bush as Richard Smith's potential successor.  That and the scent that's still on him, so to speak.

But I'm sure Frank is his own man with his own plan.  Many of us just wish we knew what it looked like.  It's kind of like waiting for next year's model Chevy to come out and then going ooh and ahh, or yuk.

Bush was hired by the Texans back in January, 2007.  In the news release announcing the hiring, Coach Kubiak sounded genuinely excited to get him.

"Frank's a terrific coach.  He's a great motivator. He has a passion for Houston. He's very energetic. He relates well with players."

-Gary Kubiak

If he's named defensive coordinator, Bush will need a lot of help.  As we discussed in previous articles, the expectation is for an immediate turnaround and not another 2-3 year project.  Kubiak doesn't have that much time.

Bush and the other candidates already have Johnny Holland and Ray Rhodes at their disposal.  Add to that our earlier speculation that Larry Coyer could come in to help Bush as a mentor/defensive line coach and the case for Bush could be strengthened.

I'm not sure that Gregg Williams or Jerry Gray would want their defensive line coach picked for them, but based on the previous working relationships between Bush, Kubiak, Rick Smith, Coyer, and Ray Rhodes, Coyer seems to be a natural fit for a Bush administration.  (sorry)

Bush's coaching career is fairly well known already, but here it is again for the record (from houstontexans.com).

For related stories: You may also want to read:

• "Texans defensive coordinator search: Part I,"                              
• "...Part II."                                                                          
• "...Part III."                                                                           
• "Could Larry Coyer be a piece in the Texans defensive coordinator puzzle?"