DROP THE MIKE

Gary Kubiak has a point to make on Sunday against the Broncos

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Nov 12, 2019, 6:34 AM | Updated: 9:25 am

Welcome to Vikings week. Or as it’s known here in Denver, the Kubiak Bowl.

Make no mistake, the presence of Gary Kubiak looms large over this matchup. Kubes is currently the offensive architect for Minnesota. Yes, Kevin Stefanski is the one on the sidelines calling in the plays, but it’s Kubiak sitting upstairs who is pulling the strings on what this Vikings offense will look like.

It certainly has the look of a Kubiak offense. Sunday night against Dallas, the Vikings submitted a performance guaranteed to make Gary (and head coach Mike Zimmer) beam with pride. Minnesota threw the ball 32 times for 220 yards and ran it 36 times for 153 yards. It wasn’t just the balance exhibited by the Vikes offense. It was the ability to run the football on command that was just so, so, Kubes.

After Dallas had taken a 21-20 lead, Minnesota responded with a 13-play drive that featured 11 runs, including four straight in a goal-to-go situation that culminated with what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. It was the kind of play calling that Kubiak felt so strongly about when he was here in Denver.

Ah, yes. The Broncos and Kubiak. What a relationship that has been over the years.

First, he was John Elway’s trusted back-up and best friend for nine years. Then, it was John playing on that close bond to urge Kubes to come be the head coach to replace John Fox. Kubiak delivered on cue, leading the Broncos to an improbable Super Bowl title.

It was perfect. It was Hollywood-esque. Then, it started to unravel.

Peyton Manning retired as a champion, but not before being part of a narrative that he bristled at the way Kubiak wanted him to play quarterback. Then, came Trevor Siemian, the seventh-round underdog who no doubt reminded Kubiak a bit of himself. Plus, he provided an alternative to the quarterback Gary never wanted – Paxton Lynch. (Strong rumor that won’t go away? Kubiak wanted to draft Dak Prescott instead. Hmmmm).

As the Broncos offense predictably struggled with the talent erosion that was taking place, Kubiak was criticized as being too old-school. His offense was charged with being archaic and lacking creativity. I never bought that.

How is it that supposed offensive wunderkinds like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay are so high tech when everything they do is rooted in Kubiak (and obviously, Mike Shanahan’s) philosophies? Blaming Kubiak was a convenient way of letting John Elway slide.

Kubiak left as head coach. The official word was he stepped down because of his health. I never believed that.

Kubiak was going to be asked to get rid of some of his assistants and for someone as fiercely loyal as Gary, that was a non-starter. So he left. But not totally. The relationship with Elway was still strong enough that Kubiak stayed on as an advisor.

And then, it appeared Gary was set for another triumphant return. It was the worst-kept secret in football. Kubiak was going to come back to run the offense and he would be re-united with Joe Flacco. The two had teamed up for what turned out to be Flacco’s best season in the NFL when Kubes was the offensive coordinator in Baltimore. Flacco is on record as saying he was anticipating Kubiak would be the offensive coordinator.

But as has been too evident throughout the last few years, the Broncos dysfunction got in the way. The presence of Kubiak and some of those assistants he has remained loyal to throughout the years was in place before a head coach was hired. Vic Fangio was hired and before long, word came out that Kubiak wouldn’t be involved. Of course, it’s a head coach’s prerogative to hire the coaches he wants, but it was handled in a messy way that severely damaged the once-ironclad friendship between Elway and Kubiak.

So that brings us to the Kubiak Bowl. For Vic Fangio, it will be reminder he may have gone with the wrong guy. For Elway, it will be a wistful reminder of what used to be.

Make no mistake, this is a big deal for Kubiak and his loyal lieutenants. He wants this game badly. He wants his offense to put on a show. He wants his offense to show everyone it’s as effective in 2019 as it was in 1998. He wants to make the Broncos, and specifically Elway, look bad.

This should be interesting.

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