Gary Kubiak put together a respectable career as coach of the Houston Texans. He spent seven years at the helm of the franchise, which included four postseason appearances, the second-most in franchise history.
Kubiak holds the record for the best season in franchise history by a coach after he led the Texans to 12 wins in 2012. His success became even more impressive when considering his best-starting quarterback was Matt Schaub, who established himself as a two-time Pro Bowler under Kubiak.
As a Houston native, Kubiak continues to keep a close eye on the Texans. And after watching the emergence of quarterback C.J. Stroud in 2023, Kubiak has been "impressed" by the young star.
"The first thing that jumps out to you is that he can make any throw at any time," Kubiak said during a recent appearance on The Locker Room podcast with Landry Locker.
"It doesn’t take a lot of effort for him to flip a ball 30-40 yards down the field with people around his feet and those type of things. Those are just God-given talents that are really special, when you watch him, you see that. To me, you never see any panic in him when things are going on — that’s a tremendous sign."
The attributes Kubiak noticed in Stroud led to the former Ohio State quarterback finishing his rookie year with his first Pro Bowl nod and Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
In 2023, Stroud led the Texans to a 10-7 regular season record. He finished his rookie season with 4,557 total passing yards, the second-most in NFL history by a rookie quarterback, trailing only Andrew Luck (4,662) in 2012.
