ENGLEWOOD, Colorado – After nearly four decades in the NFL as a player and coach, former Broncos coach, Super Bowl winner Gary Kubiak retired.
Kubiak served as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator / assistant coach in 2020, after serving as assistant chief coach and offensive adviser in 2019.
The only individual to play and train for the Broncos and work on the front team, Kubiak served as Denver’s head coach in 2015-16 and led the team to the Super Bowl 50 title.
“It was the honor of my life to work 36 seasons as an NFL player and coach,” Kubiak said in a statement. “I have been on a football field most of my life and now I am looking forward to getting away from the game and enjoying more time with my family and friends.
“I offer my sincere thanks to the owners and fans of the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this great game and for treating me and my family so well over the years.
“I will miss the competition, the planning, the game days and being part of a team. But above all, I will value the friendships I have made along the way with players, coaches and staff. I love the game of football and will always be your biggest fan. “
In the 2015 Broncos championship season, Kubiak helped Denver to a 12-4 record and seed No. 1 with nine wins by seven points or less (a total that grew to 11 in the postseason). Denver also recorded three return wins of at least 14 points against playoff teams, which was the maximum in a single season by an organization in NFL history.
Probably in the first Hall of Fame vote, Peyton Manning lost seven games while battling a foot injury in the middle of the season, but Kubiak helped Brock Osweiler and the Broncos to win five of those seven games.
Kubiak recorded a 24-11 record – including the postseason – in his two seasons leading the franchise, and no coach in the franchise’s history has won more wins in his first two seasons. He became only the fourth coach in NFL history to lead a team in the Super Bowl victory in his first season with the team.
“The Denver Broncos congratulates Gary Kubiak for an incredible 36-year career in the NFL,” said President / CEO Joe Ellis. “Few people have impacted a team in more ways than Gary in his 24 seasons at the Broncos. Part of six Super Bowl appearances – including three wins – with the Broncos as a player, assistant coach, head coach and staff executive, Gary always has a special place in our championship history. He is an excellent coach who did a masterful job leading us to victory in the Super Bowl 50, skilfully sailing that season with tremendous instincts and feeling every step of the way. On behalf of the Broncos, we wish Gary all the best in his retirement. We also recognize and thank his wife, Rhonda, for her unwavering support for our organization throughout Gary’s time with the Broncos. “
Kubiak stepped down as coach of the team in January 2017, after a health scare in the 2016 season – later diagnosed as a complex migraine – that forced him to lose a game against Chargers.