DENVER (AP) - Gary Kubiak had an average arm and was not very nimble, but still managed to last nine years with the Denver Broncos as John Elway's backup.
The reason was simple: The guy knew the offense.
After he retired, Kubiak took that knowledge to the sideline. Now, 15 years later, Denver's offensive coordinator might be the hottest NFL head-coaching prospect around.
The Broncos have already received an official request from the Houston Texans to interview Kubiak during their bye week, as is allowed by NFL rules.
Coach Mike Shanahan said other teams have contacted the Broncos, as well, and while he wouldn't get specific, he confirmed reports that pretty much every team with an opening - Detroit, St. Louis, Green Bay, New Orleans and Kansas City - has at least made preliminary contact with the Broncos about the coach they call ``Kubes.''
If anyone can relate to Kubiak, it would be Bradlee Van Pelt, the current backup quarterback, who spends a lot of his time during practice on the sideline studying, the way Kubiak did from 1983-91.
``Being a backup is a lot harder than anyone anticipates,'' Van Pelt said. ``You don't get the reps, but you have to know everything. That's what he warns me about. He says, you've got to know your stuff and no one's going to know if you're preparing right until you go onto the field.''
As his rare performances with the Broncos proved, nobody prepared better than Kubiak.
Just like Elway, Kubiak came to the Broncos as a rookie in 1983. He was less than an afterthought, though, an eighth-round pick out of Texas A&M, who played third string behind Elway and Steve DeBerg.
Bronco fans got to know Kubiak much better on Oct. 28, 1984, when Elway woke up ill hours before Denver's game at Los Angeles against the Raiders. Kubiak made the second start of his career. His line that day: 21-for-34 for 206 yards and two touchdowns in front of a hostile crowd of 92,000-plus. Final score: Denver 22, Los Angeles 19 in overtime.
He finished his career 4-1 as a starter, all in emergency relief of Elway. Perhaps his best performance, though, came in the 1991 AFC championship game in Buffalo.
Elway took a nasty shot to his leg early in the game and was struggling. The Broncos were trailing 10-0 in the fourth quarter. Kubiak relieved him and completed 11 of 12 passes for 136 yards. He led a late, 85-yard touchdown drive to pull Denver within three points. The Broncos recovered an onside kick and Kubiak completed a pass to Steve Sewell, but Sewell fumbled to end the comeback.
``It was a great feeling,'' Kubiak said after the game. ``It's just too bad we came up short.''
It was the last game Kubiak would play.
Kubiak, who did not make himself available for interviews Wednesday, went on to be an assistant at Texas A&M, then caught on as quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 1994, when Shanahan was offensive coordinator and the Niners won the Super Bowl.
When Shanahan got the head-coaching job at Denver in 1995, Kubiak came with him as his coordinator. They've worked together ever since, producing an offense ranked in the top 10 in 10 of their 11 seasons together.
``It's an opportunity that he's earned,'' Shanahan said. ``He's done a great job here. He's done a great job since he's been in the NFL and whoever gets him will be lucky.''
Kubiak has had chances before, a hot prospect in the late 1990s when Denver was winning Super Bowls. Texas A&M wanted him. So did Colorado, and many thought he'd take that job. But in the leadup to Denver's second Super Bowl win, he surprisingly pulled out of the running for the CU job, insisting that at 37 he still needed to grow as a coach ``and I have a chance to continue to grow under the best.''
While he grew, the Broncos shrank from the national limelight. Now, they're back near the top again, at 13-3, and Kubiak's name is hot.
Shanahan seems all but resigned to losing his coordinator and one of his closest friends and confidants.
``You always hate to lose a great coach, but he's earned the right to be the head man, and I think he'll do a great job,'' Shanahan said.
Between now and then, Kubiak will concentrate on trying to help Denver win another Super Bowl.
``Check his resume. Check his history. He gets things done,'' running back Mike Anderson said. ``He strives to be the very best. He strives for that perfect game plan one week to the next, to set us up to where we can be successful.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
