Ravens head coach John Harbaugh gave a speech to his team last week that particularly resonated with offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak.
"John made a great comment, talking about the things that you take with you when you move forward and let other things go. I thought, 'Is he talking to me?,'" Kubiak said Thursday. "That's a great comment. You have to take the good with it, take the positive, learn from what's going on, move forward in your life and that's what I've tried to do. And like I said, I'm very fortunate to have a chance to move forward in such a great spot."
With the Ravens preparing to face the Houston Texans Sunday at NRG Stadium, Kubiak has had plenty of opportunities this week to look back. Kubiak is a Houston native and grew up about five miles away from the stadium.
The Texans gave him his first head-coaching job and he spent eight seasons with the organization, leading the franchise -- which had won just 18 games over four seasons with Dom Capers at the helm -- to three winning seasons and back-to-back playoff berths in 2011 and 2012.
But Kubiak was fired by the Texans last December with the team in the midst of an 11-game losing streak. His dismissal capped a difficult year in which he suffered a mini-stroke on the sideline at halftime of a game about a month earlier.
"I failed with that football team, so it's very difficult," Kubiak said. "I understand the business and how it works. It's funny how things work out, too. To have an opportunity here and with this organization, I'm so appreciative of that. Getting back to work, that's the best medicine for a football coach. Fortunately, John gave me an opportunity to come do that real quick. So, I've been pretty consumed and I really enjoy what I'm doing."
Kubiak insists that he has no hard feelings toward the Texans or their owner, Bob McNair, and he clearly hasn't lost his sense of humor about the situations. Asked about his last memory at NRG Stadium, Kubiak joked, "Probably driving away."
“I have great feelings toward them,” he said. “Bob gave me a chance that nobody else has ever given me. I’m very grateful for that. I’m very proud of the people that were there with me, the job that they were doing and the work that they were doing. That’s a big chunk of my football life – eight years, a lot of football games. You don’t ever leave that.”
With the Ravens, Kubiak has helped orchestrate an offensive turnaround. Quarterback Joe Flacco is having arguably the best season of his career and the Ravens have had one of the top running games in football. The Ravens are 23 points away from setting a franchise record for points in a season.
Kubiak insists he's consumed by his current responsibilities and hasn't given much thought to anything but doing his job.
"It's a big game for our team and it is the next game," he said. "I'm sure it will be somewhat emotional for me. Come Sunday, it will be a little bit different, but right now, I've got my hands full trying to figure out how to block [J.J. Watt] and for us to move the ball.
"I've never been through this before. That's a good thing, but that's my home, that's where I grew up. Other than getting a chance to see one of my boys who I haven't seen in about six months, see my Mom, those types of things, it's the next football game. We'll see what happens, but I'm looking forward to it."