In the NFL saying “no” can sometimes be the best thing you can do. That is exactly what Gary Kubiak has done. By telling the rest of the teams with coaching openings that he wanted to stay in Baltimore, Kubiak got his dream job. Kubiak and the Denver Broncos put the finishing touches on a 4 yr deal Monday. This will make Kubiak the 15th head coach in Broncos history.
Kubiak’s last head coaching job was with the Houston Texans in which he amassed a record of 63-66. This includes a couple of playoff victories. His old school run first offense may play right into a new direction. With the new-found abilities of CJ Anderson and the uncertain return of Peyton Manning, this may be just the thing that Denver needs.
In 2014 while the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, Gary Kubiak made a tremendous impact. The Ravens offense went from 30th in the league in rushing in 2013 to 8th in 2014. The Baltimore run game was highly questioned after the release of Ray Rice from the team after some off the field issues. The Ravens also saw a decrease in the number of times Joe Flacco was put to the ground.
Denver has several other questions that will need to be answered. If Manning does decide to retire, the Broncos and Kubiak will surly give a look to Brock Osweiler. Osweiler, taken in the 2nd round of the 2012 draft, is the supposed heir apparent to Manning. The run first, play action scheme most certainly will help in this transition. The Broncos also have several free agents that are vital to the success of the team.
John Elway, the general manager and executive vice president, has placed priority on resigning of pending free agents Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas. Now that he has found his head coach these are Elway’s number one priorities with the emphasis being on Demaryius Thomas. Keeping the offense as intact as possible will only help if they have to transition to Osweiler. As little change as possible is always good when moving to a younger QB.
Elway and Kubiak are once again together. Weather they can relive the magic from ’97 and ’98, when Kubiak was the OC under Shanahan and Elway was QB, will be determined. One thing we do know is dreams do come true. If things go right, this may be a dream that Gary Kubiak may never want to awake from.
