"I can't remember the last time I wrote about this in the Chronicle or talked about it on the radio, but this is the ideal occasion to revisit just how close running back Reggie Bush came to becoming a Texan.

Now that Mario Williams is coming off a terrific performance in the season-opening victory over Indianapolis and Bush starts at running back for Miami - Sunday's opponent at Sun Life Stadium - I'm going to explain how the Heisman Trophy winner from USC was almost the top pick in the 2005 draft.

Many of us wanted the Texans to use the pick on quarterback Vince Young, but that never was an option. Owner Bob McNair and general manager Charley Casserly still believed in David Carr after the tumultuous 2-14 season of 2004.

The last game at San Francisco was called the Bush Bowl. The Texans lost in overtime to secure the top pick.

Young led the Longhorns to the national championship over Bush's Trojans. Young was the hometown hero.

McNair and Casserly thought hiring a head coach who specialized in developing quarterbacks would jump-start Carr's career after four seasons. That's why the serious candidates to replace the fired Dom Capers were all offensive coordinators and Pat Hill, Carr's coach at Fresno State.

Remember that McNair had brought in Dan Reeves as a consultant during the season. From that point on, I knew Casserly would leave at some point. He remained until after the draft, which turned out to be the best in team history and the best of any team that year.

Kubiak and offense

Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak won Super Bowls coaching Steve Young and John Elway, but he also coached Brian Griese and Jake Plummer to their best seasons when they played for the Broncos.

Once Kubiak was hired, the Texans focused on the draft and Bush. They were so sure they were taking Bush that at one point the media relations and marketing and promotions staffs started to prepare for the day when it became official.

In mid-March, Joel Segal, Bush's agent, came to Houston to negotiate with Casserly. That night, Casserly told me I better start writing about Mario Williams as well as Bush so I wouldn't look stupid in case the Texans took the North Carolina State defensive end.

I told Casserly I didn't believe it. Williams' name never had been mentioned on or off the record. I told him I thought he and Segal were so far off on money that he was trying to spread the word about Williams to get Segal to come down in his demands. Casserly said I was wrong, but I still didn't believe it."