ABC 13’s Bob Allen is reporting that ex-Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips will be the new defensive coordinator of the Houston Texans.

It was one of the worst-kept secrets in the history of Houston sports journalism. There were numerous rumors about it and the fact that Gary Kubiak blatantly said they’d be talking to him in his Monday presser was an additional hint. Oh, and the defensive staff firings were pretty much attuned to Phillips’ liking, as he worked with defensive line coach Bill Kollar in Atlanta (as Houston Diehards pointed out earlier), not to mention the fact that Phillips was the one potential hiring that satisfied both the “respected defensive coordinator” and “Gary’s Denver Pipeline” chains of thought.

The Texans will move forward with Phillips helming the defense. For more on how that will work in theory, please check out MDC’s spectacular article on what his scheme will mean for the Texans on Battle Red Blog.