02-24-2019, 05:50 PM
A couple of years ago, Gary Kubiak took the concept of working from home to another level. He retired from the NFL coaching ranks and spent his days working remotely from his ranch near Houston, Texas, evaluating college players as a “senior personnel advisor” for the Denver Broncos.
That gave Kubiak some much-needed time to decompress after more than 30 years in the NFL. He opted to step away from the game a few years ago because of continuing health issues, and while that time away from the sidelines served him well, in the end, the football lifer simply couldn’t escape the sport’s gravitational pull.
“After doing the personnel (job) for a couple of years, I knew I wanted to do some more,” Kubiak said. “I wanted to be smart. I knew I didn’t want to come back and be a head coach. I knew I wasn’t going back in that direction. But I did want to be involved. I missed it.”
That eventually led him to the Vikings this offseason, and he was hired on last month as a right-hand man of sorts to head coach Mike Zimmer as well as an offensive advisor to new offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. Kubiak, 57, was introduced to reporters for the first time on Thursday afternoon at TCO Performance Center in Eagan.
“I love this game,” he said. “To have a chance to get back in the foxhole and battle a little bit, I’m really looking forward to it.”
As a four-time Super Bowl champion, Kubiak, a former quarterback, brings a wealth of knowledge to the current coaching staff. He broke into the league in the mid-1990s and made a name for himself as the longtime offensive coordinator with the Broncos. His success in that role got him hired as the head coach of the Houston Texans (2006-13) before his coaching career eventually came full circle when he took over as head coach in Denver (2015-16).
“As a first-time (offensive) coordinator, I would’ve been foolish not to do everything in my power not to bring in a guy that’s been in seven Super Bowls as a player and as a coach,” Stefanski said. “Now I have a resource sitting right next to me that’s done it — and done it at a high level. It’s really special.”
As of now, though, the team is still ironing out the details of what exactly Kubiak’s day-to-day responsibilities will look like. Perhaps the only clarity that came out of Thursday’s introductory news conference was the fact that Kubiak will more than likely be up in the booth on game days helping out Stefanski any way he can.
“I love that,” Kubiak said. “It’s a great perspective up there. As a play-caller, I think it’s important to be down there and get a feel for the game and what’s going on from an emotional standpoint. Hopefully I can see the big picture up there and help all I can.”
No doubt the influence of Kubiak’s identity as an offensive savant that loves to run the ball will please Zimmer. That said, Kubiak also made it very clear that Stefanski is the person calling the plays on game days.
“I look at it this way,” Kubiak said. “I’ve called plays in this league for 25-plus years (and) I don’t think I went to a game where I called everything myself. As a group, Kevin’s got a job to do. It’s our job as coaches to help him in any way we can.”
More than anything, Kubiak is happy to be back around the game he loves. He’s in good health besides the hip he had to have replaced a couple of months ago, and he can’t want to get back to doing what he knows he does best.
https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/21/a-...h-vikings/
That gave Kubiak some much-needed time to decompress after more than 30 years in the NFL. He opted to step away from the game a few years ago because of continuing health issues, and while that time away from the sidelines served him well, in the end, the football lifer simply couldn’t escape the sport’s gravitational pull.
“After doing the personnel (job) for a couple of years, I knew I wanted to do some more,” Kubiak said. “I wanted to be smart. I knew I didn’t want to come back and be a head coach. I knew I wasn’t going back in that direction. But I did want to be involved. I missed it.”
That eventually led him to the Vikings this offseason, and he was hired on last month as a right-hand man of sorts to head coach Mike Zimmer as well as an offensive advisor to new offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. Kubiak, 57, was introduced to reporters for the first time on Thursday afternoon at TCO Performance Center in Eagan.
“I love this game,” he said. “To have a chance to get back in the foxhole and battle a little bit, I’m really looking forward to it.”
As a four-time Super Bowl champion, Kubiak, a former quarterback, brings a wealth of knowledge to the current coaching staff. He broke into the league in the mid-1990s and made a name for himself as the longtime offensive coordinator with the Broncos. His success in that role got him hired as the head coach of the Houston Texans (2006-13) before his coaching career eventually came full circle when he took over as head coach in Denver (2015-16).
“As a first-time (offensive) coordinator, I would’ve been foolish not to do everything in my power not to bring in a guy that’s been in seven Super Bowls as a player and as a coach,” Stefanski said. “Now I have a resource sitting right next to me that’s done it — and done it at a high level. It’s really special.”
As of now, though, the team is still ironing out the details of what exactly Kubiak’s day-to-day responsibilities will look like. Perhaps the only clarity that came out of Thursday’s introductory news conference was the fact that Kubiak will more than likely be up in the booth on game days helping out Stefanski any way he can.
“I love that,” Kubiak said. “It’s a great perspective up there. As a play-caller, I think it’s important to be down there and get a feel for the game and what’s going on from an emotional standpoint. Hopefully I can see the big picture up there and help all I can.”
No doubt the influence of Kubiak’s identity as an offensive savant that loves to run the ball will please Zimmer. That said, Kubiak also made it very clear that Stefanski is the person calling the plays on game days.
“I look at it this way,” Kubiak said. “I’ve called plays in this league for 25-plus years (and) I don’t think I went to a game where I called everything myself. As a group, Kevin’s got a job to do. It’s our job as coaches to help him in any way we can.”
More than anything, Kubiak is happy to be back around the game he loves. He’s in good health besides the hip he had to have replaced a couple of months ago, and he can’t want to get back to doing what he knows he does best.
https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/21/a-...h-vikings/