When the sun came up Tuesday morning, Gary Kubiak already was at work looking for ways to improve his football team.

It matters not that it was only his first day on the job with the Baltimore Ravens. Born to grind, Kubiak was back in his element as an offensive coordinator, a position he held in Denver for 11 years before earning a promotion to be head coach of the Texans.

It is a good bet he pushed mundane tasks like office décor, e-mail passwords and parking passes aside for film study.

Kubiak could have sat at home, relaxed, played a lot of golf and still pocketed a few million dollars of Bob McNair's money this year.

But that's not Kubiak. He was interested in open head coaching positions, but others were chosen.

Kubiak, 52, thought about taking a year off, and with his midseason health problem - a mini-stroke in November - that would seem the wise move.

But coaches don't usually take time off. They coach.

When the opportunity to work for the Ravens came about, it excited Kubiak.

The Texans run a first-class organization. Baltimore runs a championship one.

Texans fans should be jealous.

At his introductory news conference, Kubiak looked fresh, rejuvenated, almost daunting in a black Ravens jacket. Houston may be home, but right now, being an offensive coordinator is where his heart is.

He eventually became a decent head coach, but I'm not sure he ever fully adapted to the role.

Kubiak doesn't care about being out front. He doesn't have that big of an ego. He likes teaching more than commanding. All of that screams coordinator, something at which he is excellent.

Winning combination

The Texans' free fall from two-time division champion and preseason Super Bowl contender to the worst team in the NFL didn't change that.

The first head coach the Texans fired, Dom Capers, went on to win a Super Bowl as a coordinator with a championship organization in Green Bay. If Kubiak stays in Baltimore for a while and doesn't rush back into being a head coach again, don't be surprised if he makes it 2-for-2.

Kubiak brings a lot to the Ravens, whose offense, like the Texans', ranked at the bottom of the league this season. Quarterbacks often have thrived under Kubiak, so expect strong-armed Joe Flacco, coming off the worst season of his six-year career, to have a bounce-back year.

The Ravens, who won last year's Super Bowl then missed the playoffs for the first time in six years under John Harbaugh, will contend.

Harbaugh is adamant the offense he and Kubiak will install won't be what the Texans ran or what Denver ran when Kubiak was there.

"It's going to look like Baltimore wants it to look," Harbaugh said. "It's going to be rugged. It's going to be rough, tough, physical, downhill, precise football."

No one has ever accused Harbaugh of being a finesse coach. Kubiak's offensive knowledge paired with Harbaugh's tough approach makes for an interesting and high-quality combination.

Promotion in future?

If all goes well, and it should, Kubiak's stay in Baltimore might be a short one.

He wants to be a head coach again and put to use the valuable lessons he learned in an up-and-down eight-year run with the Texans. Some time under Harbaugh won't hurt.

For now, Baltimore is an excellent fit for Kubiak.

Since 1994, when he became the quarterbacks coach at San Francisco and helped Steve Young get the "never won a championship" monkey off his back, Kubiak has been an on-the-grind NFL coach. It isn't just what he does; it is in large part who he is.

It is good to see him back doing what he does best.

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