HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans are sticking with coach Gary Kubiak.

The Texans said Monday that Kubiak will return next season, despite another lackluster year that ended without a playoff berth.

But the team made wholesale defensive staff changes, firing coordinator Frank Bush, secondary coach David Gibbs, linebackers coach Johnny Holland and assistant linebackers coach Robert Saleh. The Texans (6-10) lost eight of their last 10 games, mostly due to a defense that gave up a league-high 4,280 yards passing along with 33 touchdown passes, tied with Dallas for the most.

"We've got some serious problems that we've got to address," Kubiak said. "It definitely wasn't all coaching, in my opinion. We've got issues across the board. I had to make a decision on how we can get better, and so doing that, I made that decision to let those four guys go."

Pro Bowl middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who sat out the final 10 games with a ruptured Achilles tendon, was surprised to hear that the team had released Holland, an assistant in all five of Kubiak's seasons.

"It's tough to lose a guy who's been with me for my first five years in the league," Ryans said in a phone interview. "I learned a lot from him. That was definitely shocking, that he had to go."

The Texans are 37-43 in his five seasons, and the franchise is still seeking its first playoff appearance. The best Kubiak has done so far is guide the Texans to a 9-7 mark in 2009, the only winning record in the team's nine seasons of existence.

Kubiak, whose contract runs through the 2012 season, admitted that he felt fortunate that owner Bob McNair decided to retain him.

"We visited and decided on a new direction," Kubiak said. "Obviously, him giving me a chance to move us in that direction, I'm very thankful for that. But I know I've got a lot of work to do and a lot of problems to fix."

Speculation has swirled for a week that McNair is interested in meeting with fired Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, who's been a defensive coordinator most of his career. Bum Phillips, Wade's father and the former Houston Oilers coach, showed up at Texans practice last week and chatted with McNair.

Kubiak said he's "talked to nobody" about filling the vacancy. Phillips has been out of work since the Cowboys started 1-7, their lone victory a 27-13 win over the Texans in Houston in Week 3.

Phillips was the defensive coordinator in Denver from 1986-92, overlapping Kubiak's playing career as John Elway's backup for the Broncos.

"I know Wade, I've competed against him many times," Kubiak said. "I have a lot of respect for him as a coach, but we'll talk to a number of people. It's pretty safe to say that Wade will be one of the people we'll talk to, and it'll probably be very quickly."

Bush seemed resigned to his fate after the final practice of the season on Friday.

"I've got to go out and try to find a way to sell myself to another organization," Bush said. "I'll stay positive, I'll stay upbeat, I'll keep believing in the things I do. Quite frankly, I felt like we had the right approach. Things didn't work out, but I'll stay positive about the whole situation and keep moving forward."