Gary Kubiak shows growth as a coach in Super Bowl triumph with Broncos

You poor Texans fan you.

So many of you went to bed last night with mixed emotions.

Despite chuckling as I write this, I come not to mock your pain. No, really.

You probably do not find it funny that so many men you unceremoniously ran out of town took a confetti shower at the Super Bowl on Sunday, but I think it is hilarious that 13 former Texans and coaches are with the title-winning Broncos.

Former Texans coaches Gary Kubiak and Wade Phillips, two great Houstonians (yeah Wade had enough ties to the city that we claim him), are Super Bowl champions.

Meanwhile Bill O'Brien, the current Texans head coach, spent Monday morning co-hosting "Mike and Mike" on ESPN.

Now, as I have told you many, many times, I'm not one to say "I told you so." That's just rude.

But I have been known to remind you that I informed you thusly.

All of you who said Kubiak wasn't capable of winning a Super Bowl should apologize for arguing with those of us who said he was.

That isn't to say that Kubiak shouldn't have been fired while the Texans were on their way to a 2-14 mark in 2013.

Hell, had I been the Texans owner I would have let him go a few years sooner. Then again, had I been the owner, I wouldn't have let Kubiak bungle his defensive coordinator hire so badly in 2009.

How can you think Kubiak is a Super Bowl-capable coach, yet think he should have been fired in 2009?

That was six years ago.

Kubiak is a much better coach now than he was then.

Now he has had Phillips at his side for four seasons. He makes better decisions. He is still ultra-conservative at times, but his clock management has improved. And he is more consistent.

He has a winning calm about him. And he is far more confident now than he was in 2009, when he went against logic, reason and even his own history at times, which made his decision-making suspect.

Kubiak's people skills have always been superb. We saw evidence of that in how he managed Peyton Manning this season.

To take a legend, bench him midseason, then sit him, then convince him to come off the bench and let the game come to him in the playoffs takes a deft hand.

In 26 previous playoff games, only once – in a 41-0 loss to the Jets in 2003 – had Manning thrown for fewer yards than the 141 he had in the win over the Panthers in the Super Bowl.

It was remarkable.

So, yeah, Kubiak is a Super Bowl-winning coach, because he did some Super Bowl-caliber coaching this season.

Winning the Super Bowl with this version of Manning is far more impressive than O'Brien going 9-7 with four quarterbacks and posting the worst home shutout playoff loss since the 1970 merger.

And it's not even close.

As for Phillips, his defense handled Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Cam Newton in the playoffs, allowing just one touchdown pass to the group.

To borrow from his father, Phillips' defense saw the Super Bowl door and kicked that you-know-what in.

Then, per a video on TMZ, the 68-year-old finished the night by doing Newton's signature dance and dabbin' on em while dancing with his lovely wife Laurie at the Broncos' victory party. Outstanding.

And I can't stop laughing.