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HOUSTON -- Texans owner Bob McNair is confident in coach Gary Kubiak, and the billionaire's goal for this season remains seeing his team in the playoffs for the first time.
"Right now we're still trying to make the playoffs and until mathematically we cannot do it, that's our goal and that doesn't change," McNair said Wednesday. "And so that's all we think about and nothing else matters."
That goal is looking pretty unlikely for the Texans (3-6), who are coming off a 41-13 loss to the Ravens and play Indianapolis on Sunday. They are in last place in the AFC South, but hold out hope for a wild-card spot with some normally strong teams posting mediocre records so far.
After last year's 8-8 finish, many expected Houston to get over the hump and get its first winning record. Instead, the Texans struggled from the start, losing their first four games. They rebounded with consecutive wins over Miami, Detroit and Cincinnati, but followed that streak with two losses.
Sunday's defeat, in which Sage Rosenfels threw four interceptions, had some fans thinking Kubiak should be fired. Despite the recent poor performances, McNair believes Kubiak is the one to turn around his team.
"There's no reason he can't," McNair said. "He's a very capable coach. He's smart. He's hardworking. The players relate to him. They play hard for him. They respect him and he treats them fairly. And those are the things that players are looking for and really that's all you can ask of your coach."
McNair did acknowledge he'd like to see more from the players.
"The players have to do it out on the field, and they know that they're held accountable for that," he said. "So it's a difficult time for us because we all thought we'd be doing better than we are. So we just have to go out there and our players have just got to play better."
McNair isn't interested in pointing fingers or trying to find blame for Houston's predicament. That, he says, takes away from what he and his team should be focusing on.
Kubiak has brushed aside questions about his job security, saying he is only worried about Indianapolis. That's what McNair wants to see.
"He should be focused on preparing for this game and not even be concerned about the other because all that counts is performance," McNair said. "We're all judged based on performance. So you can't pay any attention to anything that would distract you from performing. Sidebar conversations or thoughts don't contribute anything to the probability of success."
Since Houston began play in 2002, McNair has been waiting for the time when the Texans would be successful. In the seventh season, he's getting a bit antsy.
"I'm impatient. I have been patient, but I'm impatient," he said. "I thought we would be doing better at this point in time and we're not and I'm disappointed about it. So then the next question is: 'What are you going to do?' Well, the first thing you can do is go out and win this Sunday."
