08-12-2020, 03:58 PM
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/8/12/21364152/gary-kubiak-vikings-system-matt-lafleur-kevin-stefanski
Gary Kubiak Helped Shape the Modern NFL. Now, He’s Stepping Back Into It.Kubiak and Mike Shanahan created the system that Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan, and more coaches use today. And now the Vikings offensive coordinator is returning to show just how far it can go.
Gary Kubiak got his first NFL coaching job in 1994, as the quarterbacks coach of the 49ers. He had nearly a decade of experience as the Broncos’ backup quarterback under his belt, but the gig in San Francisco gave him a chance to see the sport in an entirely new way. One of Kubiak’s first assignments was to hunker down in a small meeting room and digest the taped installation sessions the Niners used to teach their offense. He pored over videos of Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren, and Mike Shanahan explaining each detail of the Niners’ scheme. As he moved from one VHS to the other, Kubiak realized that even though the system was the same, the details changed depending on who was at the front of the room. “I was looking at three brilliant offensive minds, watching them teach the same material three different ways and put their own spin on it,” Kubiak says. “A lot of the time in football, that’s what we do. Everybody has their own way of teaching.”
Kubiak eventually got his own turn at the helm—an 11-year run as the head coach of the Texans and Broncos, which included a Super Bowl victory with Denver following the 2015 season. But starting in 2017, Kubiak moved back behind the scenes. He spent two years in a front-office role with Denver, then returned to coaching last season as an offensive consultant for the Vikings. During that stretch, he’s watched as several young head coaches—including Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Kevin Stefanski, and others—have played out Kubiak’s experience in that 49ers meeting room on a larger scale, taking the foundation of a scheme and making it their own. The difference this time is that they’re working with an offense that Kubiak helped create.
When Kubiak and Mike Shanahan left San Francisco in 1995 to become the offensive coordinator and head coach, respectively, of the Broncos, they took the basic outline of Walsh’s West Coast offense with them. Shanahan paired that philosophy—which included a quick-passing approach and split-back setup—with the innovative outside-zone running game devised by offensive line coach Alex Gibbs. Individually, the component parts were familiar, but together, they formed a radical new system. “You’ve got Alex’s run game, you’ve got Mike’s mind coming from San Francisco, and then we started to put all these keepers and boots in,” Kubiak says. “It all started to tie together, and then it started to grow.”
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Gary Kubiak Helped Shape the Modern NFL. Now, He’s Stepping Back Into It.Kubiak and Mike Shanahan created the system that Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan, and more coaches use today. And now the Vikings offensive coordinator is returning to show just how far it can go.
Gary Kubiak got his first NFL coaching job in 1994, as the quarterbacks coach of the 49ers. He had nearly a decade of experience as the Broncos’ backup quarterback under his belt, but the gig in San Francisco gave him a chance to see the sport in an entirely new way. One of Kubiak’s first assignments was to hunker down in a small meeting room and digest the taped installation sessions the Niners used to teach their offense. He pored over videos of Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren, and Mike Shanahan explaining each detail of the Niners’ scheme. As he moved from one VHS to the other, Kubiak realized that even though the system was the same, the details changed depending on who was at the front of the room. “I was looking at three brilliant offensive minds, watching them teach the same material three different ways and put their own spin on it,” Kubiak says. “A lot of the time in football, that’s what we do. Everybody has their own way of teaching.”
Kubiak eventually got his own turn at the helm—an 11-year run as the head coach of the Texans and Broncos, which included a Super Bowl victory with Denver following the 2015 season. But starting in 2017, Kubiak moved back behind the scenes. He spent two years in a front-office role with Denver, then returned to coaching last season as an offensive consultant for the Vikings. During that stretch, he’s watched as several young head coaches—including Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Kevin Stefanski, and others—have played out Kubiak’s experience in that 49ers meeting room on a larger scale, taking the foundation of a scheme and making it their own. The difference this time is that they’re working with an offense that Kubiak helped create.
As the 58-year-old Vikings offensive coordinator steps back into a play-calling role for the first time since 2016, he’ll be part of a paradigm of offensive football that he’s helped shape for a quarter-century. “You start to realize how long you’ve been doing it, when you see it withstand the test of time,” Kubiak says. “Just watching someone take something you did five years ago and say, ‘Wow, he’s grown it.’ You know the origins of it, where it’s coming from, and now, where it’s going.”
When Kubiak and Mike Shanahan left San Francisco in 1995 to become the offensive coordinator and head coach, respectively, of the Broncos, they took the basic outline of Walsh’s West Coast offense with them. Shanahan paired that philosophy—which included a quick-passing approach and split-back setup—with the innovative outside-zone running game devised by offensive line coach Alex Gibbs. Individually, the component parts were familiar, but together, they formed a radical new system. “You’ve got Alex’s run game, you’ve got Mike’s mind coming from San Francisco, and then we started to put all these keepers and boots in,” Kubiak says. “It all started to tie together, and then it started to grow.”
More at link...
