Tag: Gary Kubiak

Cousins thinks continuity for team’s offense in 2020 will be a good thing

With Gary Kubiak in charge, the Vikings will likely have the same offensive identity in 2020.

Gary Kubiak will be the offensive coordinator for the Vikings in 2020.

This comes after Kevin Stefanski was named the head coach of the Browns. While Stefanski will be missed, the offense will generally be the same in 2020 with Kubiak, who was an offensive advisor in 2019, at the helm.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins thinks that will be a good thing.

“I think first of all, it helps that there’s going to be continuity,” Cousins said via Vikings.com. “This is going to be my fifth voice in my helmet calling the plays in five years, so I was hoping for continuity, and we’re going to be able to have that.

It has to be hard for a quarterback to go through different offensive schemes year after year, so that part is true.

What will help Cousins and this offense even more, though, will be more improvement on the offensive line and more depth at the wide receiver position.

2020 NFL coaching changes: Minnesota Vikings

Veteran offensive mastermind Gary Kubiak replaces Kevin Stefanski as the playcaller of Minnesota’s talented offense.

(Ron Chenoy, USA TODAY Sports)

Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski turned a stint of less than two full years at the position into the head coaching gig of the Cleveland Browns, and it resulted in Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer naming veteran offensive mastermind Gary Kubiak the OC for 2020.

The move makes a ton of sense for a number of reasons. Primarily, this team has tremendous “win-now pressure” to go on top of playing in a tough division and highly competitive conference. Rather than turning over the keys to an inexperienced playcaller, letting Kubiak drive this supercharged offense helps ensure it will achieve peak performance. His offensive system won’t be much different from what Stefanski ran, since Kubiak helped develop that system.

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If you remember back to Stefanski taking over for the fired John DeFilippo in 2018, Zimmer wanted to return to his roots with a ground-based offense. The Vikings were extremely effective running the ball in 2019 under Stefanski, and only two teams (SF, BAL) passed less often than Minnesota (50.5 percent run plays). Six of the seven teams to run the most plays on the ground were in the postseason this year, whereas just KC out of the 11 most pass-happy teams clinched a postseason berth. Remaining committed to such a formula is Zimmer’s directive in hiring Kubiak, the 2019 assistant head coach.

A quick refresher on Kubiak’s history reminds us of his love for running the football. Due, in part, to past health issues, he sat out of coaching in 2017 and ’18, instead holding a consultation role with the Denver Broncos. Granted, much has changed across the NFL from 1995 to present day, yet we have seen Kub produce top rushing and passing offenses, depending upon the personnel. While he mostly found success with average quarterback talent and a superstar in his last hoorah, it’s not like too many of Kubiak’s running backs were elite, either.
Offense
Rushing Off
Passing Off
Year
Tm
Role
Yds
Pts
TO
Att
Yds
TD
Y/A
FL
Att
Yds
TD
Int
1995
DEN
OC
3
9
14
16
5
13
2
22
7
7
8
8
1996
DEN
OC
1
4
17
2
1
2
4
25
16
13
5
12
1997
DEN
OC
1
1
6
6
4
5
2
7
20
9
4
6
1998
DEN
OC
3
2
3
2
2
1
2
3
21
7
5
8
1999
DEN
OC
14
18
10
9
12
10
14
8
10
15
26
16
2000
DEN
OC
2
2
7
4
3
3
6
17
9
3
6
5
2001
DEN
OC
22
10
9
6
10
30
19
3
20
25
8
18
2002
DEN
OC
3
7
11
11
5
5
3
4
14
8
18
23
2003
DEN
OC
7
10
7
2
2
3
4
2
26
22
16
18
2004
DEN
OC
5
9
18
2
4
15
8
5
16
6
8
25
2005
DEN
OC
5
7
1
2
2
3
4
5
25
18
20
2
2006
HOU
HC
28
28
11
21
21
14
20
16
23
27
28
8
2007
HOU
HC
14
12
31
22
22
16
24
27
19
11
12
28
2008
HOU
HC
3
17
30
16
13
11
13
20
7
4
13
29
2009
HOU
HC
4
10
16
20
30
18
31
17
4
1
5
17
2010
HOU
HC
3
9
4
19
7
1
3
2
10
4
17
7
2011
HOU
HC
13
10
6
1
2
3
8
22
30
18
18
3
2012
HOU
HC
7
8
6
4
8
4
16
1
18
11
18
10
2013
HOU
HC
11
31
26
22
20
28
15
9
6
15
25
28
2014
BAL
OC
12
8
6
11
8
5
7
9
17
13
12
8
2015
DEN
HC
16
19
29
17
17
12
13
7
13
14
28
32
2016
DEN
HC
27
22
21
15
27
20
28
30
17
21
21
12

Kubiak didn’t call the plays himself in each of those seasons. However, including them is a must, since he didn’t take his finger off of the heartbeat of his teams’ systems. Whether it be handpicking the playcaller, constructing a game plan, and/or interjecting with a specific call during a game, Kubiak never let the offensive designs truly go out of his control. He also had a large role in molding the Stefanski system of 2019, as mentioned.

Zone blocking is a staple of a Kubiak offense, and the outside stretch run is one of his favorite plays. The offense loves to deceive defenses through play-action passing, rollouts, bootlegs, misdirections and a plethora of personnel groupings. Being a West Coast system, running backs are expected to catch, and tight ends are just as important as route runners as blockers. Receivers are asked to block as much as any team. They operate with short-area routes and clearouts to keep defenses scrambling to cover the proper level.

Personnel changes

Surprisingly, on offense, that is, the Vikings have no noteworthy impending free agents. No team has less money with which to work during free agency, and there are several familiar defensive faces poised to walk for one reason or another.

Soaking up 15.5 percent of the overall salary cap, quarterback Kirk Cousins should be asked to rework his deal. The team could ask him to restructure his contract in a way that adds time to the final year of his original three-year pact, or the Vikings will let him ride it out at $31 million against the cap and limit their ability to spend elsewhere.

Left tackle Riley Reiff may be asked to restructure, and Minnesota would save $8.8 million against the cap by releasing the veteran.

Nearly 13 percent of the cap is tied up in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs alone. Dalvin Cook enters the final year of his rookie deal ahead of what figures to be his desire to ink a bank-breaking contract.

Fantasy football assessment

The most simplistic view is little should change under Kubiak. So long as the running game is effective, the passing game can be tuned into an efficient machine that operates on precision and yards after the catch, rather than sheer volume.

Cousins will continue to be asked to produce as a game manager first, gunslinger second. That results in uneven fantasy returns but can be explosive when everything properly aligns. He’s a fringe QB1 and a safer No. 2 or rotational passer in 2020 drafts.

Cook may see a few more reps if the Vikings don’t intend to re-sign him after the season. Take that into consideration: If no long-term extension is reached  between the two sides before your fantasy draft, Cook might be abused with a heavy workload. Either way, he’s an elite RB1 in all formats. Handcuffing Alexander Mattison is the way to go.

The wideouts, primarily Diggs and Thielen, will continue to be inconsistent in this type of an offense. Diggs is a streaky player as it is, and Thielen should remain the preferred fantasy option, despite his lengthy absence with a bum hammy in 2019. He adds more to fantasy lineups across the board than the volume-dependent Diggs, whose game is better suited for PPR setups. Thielen is a borderline WR1 (much safer as a No. 2), and Diggs is a low-end WR2 in PPR or third in conventional scoring.

Tight end was a volatile position for this offense in 2019. Veteran Kyle Rudolph was in a slumber much of the way before awakening in grand fashion as Thielen battled his hamstring injury. We also saw flashes from rookie Irv Smith Jr., and he could be asked to take on a much larger role in 2020 — which presumably would come at the expense of Rudolph’s fantasy football contributions. Neither player is a starting target just yet in 12-team leagues with typical lineup requirements.

Report: Gary Kubiak to be Vikings’ next offensive coordinator

In not totally unexpected news, the Vikings will name Gary Kubiak as their next offensive coordinator, via Ian Rapoport.

In not totally unexpected news, the Vikings will name Gary Kubiak as their next offensive coordinator, via Ian Rapoport.

Kubiak fills the role that Kevin Stefanski, now the coach of the Browns, held last season. The 2019 season was the first for Kubiak in Minnesota, and he helped shift Minnesota’s offense to a zone-blocking scheme and that led to a breakout season for running back Dalvin Cook. Kubiak’s official title was an offensive advisor.

The two options for this position, at least internally, seemed to be Kubiak or his son, Klint Kubiak, who served as quarterbacks coach last season for the team.

This will be Kubiak’s third stint as an offensive coordinator. He spent 1995-2005 with the Broncos and 2014 with the Ravens. He also served as head coach for the Texans for eight seasons and the Broncos from 2015-16, winning the 2015 Super Bowl championship.

The next step will be to get Kubiak some more talent on the offense. There’s Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, but this team badly needs a third receiver and some help on the offensive line.

Feels like Vikings offensive coordinator will come internally

With Kevin Stefanski heading to Cleveland, the Vikings are yet again searching for an offensive coordinator.

With Kevin Stefanski heading to Cleveland to be the next head coach of the Browns, the Vikings are yet again searching for an offensive coordinator.

On Monday, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told reporters that he wants to stick with the same type of system (zone-based) in 2020.

While it’s always fun and exciting to get a new person in the doors, it feels like this hire is going to be internal. The obvious choices right now appear to be Gary Kubiak, Klint Kubiak or Rick Dennison.

The elder Kubiak served as the team’s offensive advisor last season and is the brains behind most of the team’s offensive identity. The younger Kubiak was the team’s quarterbacks coach last season, while Dennison was the team’s offensive line coach.

The Vikings offense had its problems in 2019, but that seemed more because of lack of talent on the offensive line and depth at wide receiver rather than the overall scheme and philosophy.

While hiring externally might be a sexy move, remember the last time Minnesota did that it hired John DeFilippo. That experiment lasted just 13 games.

Drew Lock is Broncos’ 50th starting QB and team’s first rookie to win debut since 1983

Drew Lock is the 50th starting quarterback the Broncos have had since 1960.

The Denver Broncos started rookie quarterback Drew Lock against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday and he helped lead the team to a 23-20 victory. Lock became the 50th starting QB in franchise history (1960-present).

Lock also became just the sixth rookie QB to win his debut in team history. The last QB to do that was Gary Kubiak in 1983. Before Kubiak, John Elway accomplished the same feat in 1983, three months earlier in the season.

Here’s the list of Denver’s rookie QBs who won their debuts:

Player Opponent Score Date
Mickey Slaughter Patriots 14-10 9/29/63
Marlin Briscoe Bengals 10-7 10/6/68
Craig Penrose Chiefs 17-16 12/5/76
John Elway Steelers 14-10 9/4/83
Gary Kubiak Seahawks 38-27 11/20/83
Drew Lock Chargers 23-20 12/1/19

Lock wasn’t perfect in his debut (he had a bad interception) but the good seemingly outweighed the bad (he tossed two touchdown passes). After Sunday’s win, Broncos coach Vic Fangio indicated that the QB had a mostly positive debut but still has areas to work on.

“I think there’s promise there,” Fangio said. “I really do. I’m just not ready to put him in Canton yet. I think it was a great start for him, something that he can build upon . . . . [and] there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

Lock will start again against the Houston Texans on the road in Week 14.

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5 things to be thankful for if you’re a Vikings fan

The team has played very good football as of late, with a lot of things to look forward to heading into the holidays.

The Minnesota Vikings are heading into the holiday season with an 8-3 record and some tough tasks up ahead. Their next game, a Monday Night Football showdown against the Seattle Seahawks, seems to be the most difficult game left on the schedule. 

The Seahawks are ahead of the Vikings in the Wild Card race with a 9-2 record, and also control their own destiny within their respected division. The most impressive aspect to Seattle has been the MVP worthy play of quarterback Russell Wilson. 

Wilson is completing over 67 percent of his passes for 2,937 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also has a passer rating of 112.1, a stat that is second only to Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. 

The Vikings are in complete control of their own destiny, and they have a couple hard games left with Seattle and Green Bay. With a two-game lead in the Wild Card race, and a chance to win out and win the division, Vikings fans have plenty to be thankful for as the holidays are approaching. 

Here are five things Vikings fans should be thankful for heading into the holiday season. 

QB Kirk Cousins

The Vikings quarterback has been playing just as good as any in the NFL, but for some reason still has many doubters left. Lamar Jackson is the clear frontrunner for the MVP hardware, but that shouldn’t negate the fact that Cousins should be in the conversation. 

Cousins is completing 70.6 percent of his passes for 2,756 yards and 21 touchdowns. Those numbers are impressive alone, but he also leads the league with a passer rating of 114.8. 

The turnovers have still been somewhat of an issue because of his fumbles, but he has only thrown three interceptions (with one of those bouncing off the hands of Stefon Diggs). His touchdown to interception rate is 7:1, which is an elite statistic. 

For some reason, Cousins still gets treated like the plate of vegetables that gets passed around the table on Thanksgiving. Instead, he should be looked at like the pot of gravy that completes the meal. He is underrated, and without him the team isn’t quite there. 

RB Dalvin Cook

Without the resurgence of Dalvin Cook, the performance of Cousins wouldn’t be as good. Cook has opened up the play action game for the Vikings, showing how good Cousins can be outside of the pocket. 

Cook is averaging 4.8 yards per carry, with 1,017 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns. Through 11 games of the season, those numbers put Cook on pace to finish the season with just under 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns. 

Any running back would dream of having numbers on the ground similar to what Cook has done in 2019, but the stats don’t stop there. He has also caught the ball 45 times, and added an additional 455 yards. 

Cook is on pace to have over 2,000 all purpose yards and 16 touchdowns. He has proven that he is the key to the offense, and if it wasn’t for the MVP award only considering quarterbacks, Cook’s name would also be in the conversation.  

LB Eric Kendricks

Eric Kendricks is on pace to have his best season yet as a Vikings. The always underrated linebacker is leading the team with a total of 86 tackles, but his name always comes up when discussing who has lead the team in tackles since he arrived in Minnesota. 

Being able to find the right gaps to hit and get to the running back is crucial as a linebacker. Kendricks has continued to dominate in that aspect of his game, but that isn’t the most impressive thing he has done this season. 

Not only has Kendricks already surpassed the previous mark of pass breakups by a linebacker, but he is also towards the top of the NFL regardless of position. With 12 total pass break ups, Kendricks is only behind Titans cornerback Logan Ryan who has 16, then a list of five players (that includes Stephon Gilmore and Jaire Alexander) who have 13.

Kendricks clearly made it a priority to get better in pass coverage in the offseason, and it has shown on game days. His pass breakup covering Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys may have shifted the entire 2019 season for the Vikings. It is time for Kendricks to get some national respect, and finally make a Pro Bowl.

The return of Adam Thielen

With the most crucial stretch of the schedule ahead, the Vikings are set to get their other star receiver back at the right time. Adam Thielen has been battling a hamstring injury for over a month, but he joins a team that has gone 3-0 in games he’s missed completely. 

The offense has exploded while Thielen has been sidelined, meaning the rich are going to get richer with his return. In his absence, Irv Smith Jr., Kyle Rudolph and Bisi Johnson have all stepped up and proven they can be reliable pass catchers for the team. Stefon Diggs has continued to show off his elite route running ability, and Cook has emerged as a top three running back in the NFL. 

Adding Thielen back into the mix is only going to make this offense better. With a quarterback playing at an MVP level, the addition of Thielen is going to make the offense much harder to defend. 

Gary Kubiak

The most underrated offseason move in all of 2019 free agency didn’t come from the signing of a star player. Instead, it came from the addition of Gary Kubiak to the Vikings offensive coaching staff. 

Without the addition of Kubiak, who knows where the Vikings offense would be. Kevin Stefanski showed flashes of being a great offensive mind in 2018, but it seems as if Kubiak has helped get Stefanski to the next level. 

Bringing the outside zone scheme with him to the Vikings, Kubiak has turned the run game into a top five unit in the NFL. The Vikings are averaging over 142 rushing yards per game, forcing defenses to key in on the run game. 

While making opposing defenses key in on Cook, Kubiak has opened up the play action pass game for Cousins. The Vikings quarterback has been the best in the league when utilizing play action. 

The addition of Kubiak isn’t something that gets talked about frequently, but he has played a crucial role in getting the Vikings to 8-3.

The Vikings are coming out of the bye in complete control of their own destiny. The team has played very good football as of late, with a lot of things to look forward to heading into the holidays.

Gary Kubiak doesn’t have ‘the itch’ to return as a head coach

Kubiak served as an NFL coach for 10 seasons, eight with the Houston Texans and two with the Denver Broncos.

Gary Kubiak is with the Vikings this season, serving as an offensive advisor.

It was a major addition for this team over the offseason.

Kubiak served as an NFL coach for 10 seasons, eight with the Houston Texans and two with the Denver Broncos. Kubiak totalled a 82-75 record. His 2015 Denver Broncos team won the Super Bowl.

Kubiak was last head coach in 2016 when his Broncos went 9-7.

So, now that he’s with the Vikings, playing a pretty big role, does he feel the urge to get back into the game as a head coach?

Not so much, per Chad Graff of The Athletic.

Kubiak, 58, has had some health issues that have hindered his ability to coach, so health wise, this is probably the right move.

Earlier this season, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer called getting Kubiak on the coaching staff one of the best things that have happened to him since taking over.

Kubiak, along with offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, has the Vikings rankek eighth in points scored and ninth in total yards.

Kubiak’s son, Klint, is the team’s quarterbacks coach.

Gary Kubiak on Kevin Stefanski: ‘Kevin’s got a brilliant future’

The Vikings have teamed up offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski and offensive advisor Gary Kubiak in 2019 and so far, so good.

The Vikings have teamed up offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski and offensive advisor Gary Kubiak in 2019 and so far, so good.

Through 11 games, the Vikings rank eighth in points and ninth in yards.

There were some questions on whether or not these two would fit together or if Stefanski would feel threatened, but it feels like it’s going about as good as it could go.

Stefanksi was a candidate for the Cleveland Browns head coach job this offseason, which shows how highly thought of Stefanski is around the league.

Spoiler alert: Cleveland probably should have hired Stefanski.

Kubiak addressed Stefanski perhaps being a head coach candidate again this coming offseason.

“I think Kevin’s got a brilliant future,” Kubiak said earlier this week. “The key to getting in position to do those type of things is calling games, calling defenses, calling offenses, making decisions, handling a meeting room of a bunch of players, being able to get the most out of not only players, but coaches as well. Kevin’s been exceptional and this is a great opportunity for him this year to do it in a full-time basis. He’s doing a great job with it.”

If the Vikings continue to have success, there’s a good chance we’ll hear Stefanski’s name floating around head coaching vacancies.

Broncos vs. Vikings: 4 things to watch for in Week 11

Coming off the bye week, the Denver Broncos go on the road to face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11. Here are four things to watch for.

Coming off a bye week, the Denver Broncos will be fresh and rested in Week 11, which will probably be necessary as they will be facing one of the league’s better teams in the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The Vikings are undefeated at home this season and are riding high following a big road win over the Dallas Cowboys last week.

The Broncos will have their hands full in this game and will need many things to happen in order to pull the upset. Here are four things to watch for in this game.

1. Minnesota’s rushing attack

(Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)

The Vikings rank third in the league in rushing yards behind only the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, a team that does much of its damage on the ground with the quarterback.

In terms of a power rushing attack, the Vikings might be the best. They run the ball right at you and right through you.

That has helped to make Dalvin Cook a legitimate NFL MVP candidate. The team also has a solid backup running back in Alexander Mattison and that duo creates plenty of problems for opposing defenses.

2. Brandon Allen

(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

How will Allen play in his second start at quarterback? Going up against the Vikings on the road will certainly be a stiff challenge.

Allen played well in his first start against the Cleveland Browns, but even he has to know that his grip on the starting job is tenuous as fans and many within the organization are going to want to see Drew Lock get his shot sooner rather than later.

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ESPN names Steve Slaton the Texans’ top one-hit wonder

ESPN released their list of top one-hit wonders for all 32 teams, and RB Steve Slaton was the Houston Texans’ selection.

There are players who enter the NFL that give their respective clubs hope that they have locked down the position for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, those players turn out to be one-season solutions that still leave the organization in a bind.

ESPN compiled their list of all 32 teams’ “one-hit wonders,” and Sarah Barshop, who covers the Texans for the four-letter network, pegged former 2008 third-round pick Steve Slaton as the franchise’s top one-hit wonder.

What happened: Slaton, a third-round pick in 2008, was quickly named the starting running back for Houston as a rookie. He started 15 games and finished the season with 10 total touchdowns and 1,282 rushing yards, which ranked sixth in the league. Slaton’s best performance came against the Colts, when he ran for 156 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

For Slaton, the turnover bug bit him hard as he coughed up the ball four times through the first five games of his sophomore campaign. Ultimately, coach Gary Kubiak benched Slaton in favor of Ryan Moats. In 2011, the Texans cut Slaton after three games to start the season, and he ended the year played another three for the Miami Dolphins.

Slaton landed at No. 45 on the Texans Wire’s list of 100 greatest Texans.