Texans coach Gary Kubiak was in stable condition after he collapsed as he was running off the field at halftime at Reliant Stadium Sunday night, the team said.
Gary Kubiak, 52, was evaluated for stroke-like symptoms, a person close to the situation said. Kubiak did not suffer a stroke, the person said, but is undergoing further evaluation, including an MRI.
As the Houston Texans trickled into the locker room at halftime and learned that coach Gary Kubiak had collapsed leaving the field, their excitement over a big first half quickly disintegrated into dread.
They were soon informed that he was in stable condition, but the rattled team unraveled in the second half as Indianapolis rallied for a 27-24 victory Sunday night.
Gary Kubiak hunched over and dropped to his knees at the 24-yard line and was immediately surrounded by medical personnel. He was lifted off the field on a stretcher and taken by cart to the ambulance.
The Texans said Gary Kubiak didn’t have a heart attack. The team said the coach, a former NFL quarterback who calls the team’s plays, was conscious and was with his family as he was taken to the hospital.
“He had an episode; he was light-headed and dizzy,” Houston general manager Rick Smith said in an interview on NBC.
“He was evaluated by a number of specialists . . . he is awake and coherent.
We have to assess . . . obviously, there’s a lot of info. Hopefully, Gary will be back with us tomorrow.”
Up 21-3 when Gary Kubiak collapsed, the Texans struggled after halftime for their sixth straight loss after opening the season 2-0 with Super Bowl hopes.
Gary Kubiak’s collapse came a day after Denver Broncos coach John Fox was hospitalized in North Carolina as he awaits aortic value replacement surgery. The 58-year-old Fox will have surgery in a few days and will miss several weeks while recuperating.
Gary Kubiak has long been known as a top offensive coach, mentoring quarterbacks in Denver under Mike Shanahan and now Matt Schaub — and Case Keenum — in Houston. He has had no publicly known health problems.
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