The Denver Broncos have officially hired former Ravens offensive coordinator and Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak. Kubiak has been brought in to replace John Fox who was let go by Denver after not seeing eye to eye with general manager John Elway on the direction to take the Broncos. Kubiak was reportedly brought in on a four year deal. He brings a head coaching record of 61-64 from his time with the Texans and only three seasons above .500, however he was responsible for kick starting a hapless Texans franchise before his 2-14 2013 season that lost his job.
Kubiak goes way back with Elway as his backup in Denver for nine years, then as Elway’s offensive coordinator where his zone blocking scheme helped win two Super Bowls. Kubiak’s scheme has seen a ton of running backs put up big numbers in Denver, Houston, and Baltimore. He has a number of backs to play with in Denver with C.J. Anderson, Ronnie Hillman, and Monte Ball. Denver will also be looking to resign Demaryius and Julius Thomas and import more athletic lineman. The only big question is whether or not Manning will be involved in the passing game. Kubiak’s scheme leans heavily on play action bootleg passes and although Manning isn’t exactly pushing a walker around the field just yet, his mobility isn’t ideal. Kubiak of course could tweak his scheme to incorporate Manning considering he can still perform a play fake, this scheme is similar to one he ran in Indianapolis for years, and it never hurts to have a future Hall of Famer running your offense. However, it remains to be seen if Manning wants to adapt to a new coaching staff, playbook, and terminology at 39 years old.
