With the city spared from the highest impact winds of Hurricane Rita and the stadium and other facilities relatively unaffected by the storm, the Houston Texans will be able to return home Tuesday, instead of being forced to practice on the road. Texans officials reported on the team Web site Saturday that Reliant Stadium has power and that the indoor practice bubble, which had been deflated on Friday in advance of the storm, was not damaged by the heavy rains that soaked the area. Because of potential transportation issues, though, the Texans will close their offices on Monday and re-open Tuesday. The team, which has a bye this weekend, will report back to work Tuesday morning for a meeting with coach Dom Capers. It is expected that the Texans will resume practice on Wednesday morning. Players had scattered during the bye week, many of them heading out for quick vacations and others leaving because of the approach of Hurricane Rita. Because the Texans dodged the Hurricane Rita bullet, the team will not have to put into effect the contingency plan formulated last week. Under that plan, the Texans would have spent the week in the Cincinnati area, practicing their for the Oct. 2 game against the Bengals.

The Houston Texans canceled practice for Thursday and asked all players to leave town immediately as Hurricane Rita barreled toward the Texas coast with 165-mph winds. Coach Dom Capers said the team, which has a bye this week, was looking at alternatives that include practicing next week in Cincinnati before the Texans' game on Oct. 2 against the Bengals. Between 2 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday, the hurricane went from a 115-mph Category 2 to a 165-mph Category 5. The storm is expected to reach the Gulf Coast early Saturday. Texans players were planning to secure their homes and then scatter, from California to Florida. Andre Johnson has dealt with a hurricane before. In 1992, he watched Hurricane Andrew plow by from his grandmother's screened-in porch. ``It was crazy to see things flying around like that,'' he said. ``I'm not doing that again. I'm getting out this time.''

The Texans have fired offensive coordinator Chris Palmer and replaced him with offensive line coach Joe Pendry, ESPN's Chris Mortensen has learned. Pendry also will work with QB David Carr. Steve Marshall takes over as offensive line coach. Marshall had been assisting Pendry. Carr, a former No. 1 overall pick by the Texans, has struggled in two games this season, throwing three interceptions and just one touchdown and has been sacked 13 times already in 2005. He has completed 25 of 47 pass attempts for 237 yards. The Texans' other top skill players on offense also are struggling as Houston has started the season 0-2 and has scored just 14 points in the two games. Top wide receiver Andre Johnson has caught just seven passes and doesn't have a touchdown in 2005, while running back Domanick Davis has rushed for just 107 yards on 29 attempts in the two losses. Pendry once worked as offensive coordinator under Dom Capers at Carolina. He was fired from that job.