Miles
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- Mar 18, 2019
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — After nearly four decades in the NFL as a player and coach, Super Bowl-winning former Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak has retired.
Kubiak served as the Vikings' offensive coordinator/assistant head coach in 2020 after serving as the assistant head coach and offensive advisor in 2019.
The only individual to play and coach for the Broncos and work in the team's front office, Kubiak served as Denver's head coach in 2015-16 and led the team to a Super Bowl 50 title.
"It's been the honor of my lifetime to work for 36 seasons as an NFL player and coach," Kubiak said in a statement. "I've been on a football field for most of my life, and now I look forward to stepping 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 opportunities to be a part of this great game and for treating me and my family so well over the years.
"I'll miss the competition, the planning, game days and being part of a team. But, more than anything, I'll cherish the friendships I've made along the way with players, coaches and staff. I love the game of football and will forever be its biggest fan."
In the Broncos' 2015 championship season, Kubiak helped Denver to a 12-4 record and the No. 1 seed on the back of nine wins by seven points or fewer (a total that grew to 11 in the postseason). Denver also recorded three comeback wins of at least 14 points against playoff teams, which was the most in a single season by an organization in NFL history.
Likely first-ballot Hall of Famer Peyton Manning missed seven starts as he battled a midseason foot injury, but Kubiak helped Brock Osweiler and the Broncos win five of those seven games.
Kubiak posted a 24-11 record — including postseason — in his two seasons leading the franchise, and no coach in franchise history earned more wins in his first two seasons. He became just the fourth coach in NFL history to a lead a team to a Super Bowl win in his first season with the team.
"The Denver Broncos congratulate Gary Kubiak on an incredible 36-year career in the NFL," President/CEO Joe Ellis said. "Few people have impacted one team in more ways than Gary over his 24 seasons with the Broncos. Part of six Super Bowl appearances — including three wins — with the Broncos as a player, assistant coach, head coach and personnel executive, Gary will always have a special place in our championship history. He is an outstanding coach who did a masterful job leading us to a win in Super Bowl 50, deftly navigating that season with tremendous instincts and feel 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 of our organization throughout Gary's time with the Broncos."
Kubiak stepped down as the team's coach in January 2017 after a health scare in the 2016 season — later diagnosed as a complex migraine condition — that required him to miss a game against the Chargers.