ENGLEWOOD, Colorado – Gary Kubiak’s separation from the NFL is over.
Kubiak is returning to the Denver Broncos in a scouting capacity seven months after stepping down as their head coach over health concerns .
Kubiak will serve as a senior personnel adviser, scouting college and pro players. He’ll be based out of his Houston home and make periodic trips to Broncos headquarters for personnel meetings, general manager John Elway said Tuesday.
“With as much experience as he has evaluating players, Gary’s going to be a tremendous resource for our personnel department,” Elway said. “He’ll primarily help on the college side and assist us in free agency as well.”
It’s just the kind of fit Kubiak had in mind at his retirement news conference when he said he still had a passion for the game even though he could no longer tolerate the rigors of being an NFL head coach.
“I’m getting out of coaching, but I have a lot to give,” Kubiak said at his farewell news conference on Jan. 2. “I’m going to find something else to do and I’m going to wake up with that same passion and do that.”
Kubiak went 24-11 in two seasons as Broncos head coach, guiding the team to a win over Carolina in Super Bowl 50 in his first season. Kubiak suffered a complex migraine last season and turned over offensive play-calling duties to his staff. He retired after the Broncos finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs, and Elway hired first-time head coach Vance Joseph, a Kubiak protege, as his replacement.
Kubiak went 87-77 in his decade as an NFL head coach, including eight seasons in Houston, where he suffered a mini-stroke at halftime of a game against Indianapolis in 2013.
He’s spent 22 years with the Broncos, nine as Elway’s backup QB from 1983-91, 11 as offensive coordinator from 1995-2005 and two as head coach. He’s been a part of all three of the franchise’s Super Bowl victories.
In a statement, Kubiak called it an honor to “continue to be part of this great organization.”
“I said when I left that I still wanted to be involved in football,” Kubiak said. “This gives me an opportunity to be involved with the game, and I’m excited to get to work.”
ARNIE STAPLETON