Gary Kubiak will not be Broncos’ next offensive coordinator By Ryan O’Halloran and Kyle Fredrickson The Denver Post January 12, 2019 Vic Fangio made his first major decision as Broncos coach Friday when he decided Gary Kubiak would not be the team’s new offensive coordinator, according to a league source. It is believed Kubiak was interested in expanding his role from senior advisor to coaching, but after meeting with Fangio, a philosophical match could not be reached. The news should be viewed as a good step for the Broncos, who are letting Fangio have a significant say in hiring his staff. The Broncos will now begin a league-wide search for an offensive coordinator, who once hired will team with Fangio to build a staff. Their request to interview San Francisco quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello was denied, per the NFL Network. Mike Munchak, a finalist for the Broncos’ head-coaching job that went to Fangio, could be in play as an offensive line coach. A league source said Munchak joining the Broncos is a “strong possibility now that Kubiak is out” of being considered for the coordinator spot. Kubiak, a former Broncos player, assistant coach and head coach, returned to the organization last year. He was the head coach for two years (2015-16), winning the Super Bowl in ’15, but retired because of health concerns. One possible holdup between Kubiak and Fangio was how the offensive staff would be assembled and an overall vision for the system he would install. Coordinators who have been making the NFL rounds this week for interviews include Nate Hackett (ex of Jacksonville), Darrell Bevell (ex of Seattle), Jim Bob Cooter (ex of Detroit) and Todd Monken (ex of Tampa Bay). Another option for Fangio could be Indianapolis offensive coordinator Nick Siranni, who does not call the plays for the Colts but worked previously for Andy Reid in Kansas City. The Broncos’ coordinator job could be enticing because it offers play-calling power and coaching for Fangio, whose background is entirely on defense. And the new coordinator would have the blessing of general manager John Elway to have a system that includes many college concepts. “We’re still going to rely on the defense, but we definitely have to get better on the offensive side,” Elway said recently. Fangio, who will call the defensive plays, spent the past 32 years locked in to the complexities of evolving offenses by scheming tirelessly against them. The fundamentals of winning football haven’t changed, the Broncos’ new head coach explained Thursday in his introductory news conference. But offensive innovation has taken many forms between his first NFL season coaching Saints’ linebackers in 1986 and his last, coordinating the Bears’ defense. “I believe in Chicago this past year … 82 or 83 percent of the plays (when) we were on defense it was three wide receivers on offense,” Fangio said. “That, to me, is the biggest change in football. You’ve substituted either a fullback or a second tight end with a third wide receiver. The game has trended towards the speed of the wide receivers and spreading it out.” So what does that mean for the Broncos’ offense next season? The NFL set records this past season for average quarterback rating (92.9), completion percentage (64.9) and touchdowns per game (5.36). Denver did not join in the fun, however. Its offense ranked No. 24 (20.6 points per game) with its total offense at No. 19 (350.1 yards per game). Fangio said Thursday that quarterback Case Keenum is the Broncos’ starting quarterback “right now.” Keenum threw a career-high 15 interceptions and posted only three 300-yard passing games and none after Week 7. Although Fangio has witnessed Keenum at his best, too. The Keenum quarterbacked 2017 Vikings reached the NFC championship game and swept their Chicago series with a 20-17 road win and a 23-10 home victory. Keenum, against Fangio coordinated defenses, combined to throw for 329 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. “I know what (Keenum) is capable of,” Fangio said, “and we’re going to try to get that out of him.” Further optimism on offense is found in the Broncos’ returning youth movement. Denver made history last season with 2,817 yards from scrimmage between running back Phillip Lindsay (1,278), wide receiver Courtland Sutton (703), running back Royce Freeman (593) and wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton (243). No rookie quartet since the 1970 NFL merger has combined for more yards. Fangio’s broad offensive philosophy rests in balance. But not simply in the traditional sense. “There are other things that need to be balanced in offensive play,” Fangio said Thursday. “Do you throw it short, intermediate or deep? Do you run inside, outside or have deceptive (plays)? Do you run gap schemes and zone schemes? Are you a play-action, movement passing game? When I say balance, I’m not necessarily talking about how many runs and how many passes. You need to have balance within your passing game and in your running game. I know that from having to defend it. That’s what we’re looking to do.” Gary Kubiak and Broncos break up! By Mike Klis 9 News January 12, 2019 Once again, Gary Kubiak is gone and this time there will be no press conference. One of the best coaches in Broncos history, the team and Kubiak mutually decided to part ways from what would have been an offensive coordinator role after there was a breakdown in philosophy and staffing between the two parties, team sources told 9News. Broncos new head coach Vic Fangio will interview San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello for their vacant offensive coordinator job (technically, Bill Musgrave is still holds the position but he will not return). Scangarello has several connections with the Broncos. First, he has worked a total of three seasons under Kyle Shanahan, whom Broncos' general manager John Elway nearly hired as head coach in 2017, before opting for Vance Joseph instead. Scangarello and Fangio also share the same agent. The 49ers have so far blocked the Broncos from interviewing Scangarello so it appears Fangio has some administrative hurdles to clear to get his man. The Broncos are also hoping to hire Mike Munchak as their offensive line coach – a lateral move from the job he has now with the Pittsburgh Steelers but one Munchak apparently would be willing to make because he has a daughter and grandchild living in the Denver area. There is also a chance the Broncos may pump up Munchak's title. Munchak was a finalist for the Broncos’ head coaching position but finished second to Vic Fangio. Munchak and Fangio grew up within three to five miles of each other in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Talks between Broncos general manager John Elway and Kubiak on Kubiak’s offensive coaching role have gone back-and-forth for weeks. Elway was always skeptical whether Kubiak would remain healthy enough to handle the offensive coordinator role. Kubiak had two debilitating headache attacks that resulted in hospital stays during his last two stints as head coach – in 2013 with the Houston Texans and 2016 with the Broncos. The episode on the sidelines with the Texans was diagnosed as a transient ischemic attack, or TIA mini stroke. Kubiak had similar symptoms when he was struck following the Broncos’ fifth game of the 2016 season, although the team referred to it as a “complex migraine” issue. After missing one game, Kubiak finished out the 2016 season, then announced his retirement from coaching because of health reasons. He served the past two seasons as a Broncos’ front office consultant to Elway, but then wanted to return as an offensive coordinator. Elway cautiously went forward with tentative plans of bringing Kubiak in as an offensive coordinator, but ultimately wanted his new head coach to pick his own staff. The team then sent out word during the head coach interview process that Kubiak would take on a broader role overseeing the offense, but would not work hour-to-hour, day-to-day on game planning and calling the plays from the sidelines on game days. In the meantime, Elway hoped to hire a younger, more offensively modern coach to become his offensive coordinator. But as Fangio was hired as head coach, Kubiak convinced all parties he was physically ready to handle the offensive coordinator responsibilities. Fangio, Kubiak and Elway were moving forward with finalizing his role when some glitches occurred. According to team sources, there were philosophically differences in concepts and schemes, although they stopped short of specifics. There were also differences in staffing. 9News had reported Kubiak wanted to bring back two of his longtime assistants, Rick Dennison and Brian Pariani. Dennison had been a longtime offensive line coach and run-game coordinator for Kubiak. Pariani was a longtime tight ends coach for Kubiak. When Kubiak retired after the 2016 season, the Broncos dismissed both Dennison and Pariani and there seemed to be a problem in bringing them back. It also appeared Klint Kubiak, Gary’s son, was in position to get promoted from assistant quarterbacks’ coach to lead quarterbacks coach. The separation was unfortunate in the sense Gary Kubiak had been one of the best Bronco bosses in franchise history, both in a subservient role and as the top leader. He was the Broncos’ backup quarterback to Elway from 1983-91. He also served as offensive coordinator to head coach Mike Shanahan from 1995-2005, helping the Broncos win back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1997-98 seasons.