The Denver Broncos Staff for Gary Kubiak Beginning to Take Shape

Oct 20, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Houston Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs defeated the Texans 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Now that Gary Kubiak has been hired as the Denver Broncos Head Coach, the next step is for him to hire a staff. As important as the head coach is, the staff he assembles is just as important. There’s still work to do but Kubiak has already added two key pieces and a third one might not be far behind. Rick Dennison played linebacker for the Broncos in the 1980’s and later became a coach on the Mike Shanahan staff. Dennison will join Kubiak as the Broncos offensive coordinator after working under him with the Baltimore Ravens as the quarterbacks coach. Dennison also served as Kubiak’s offensive coordinator with the Houston Texans. There’s no debating that the Broncos offense will be Kubiaks but Dennison will have a big role in its success. He understands the zone blocking schemes as well as anyone and did a great job with Ravens quarterback, Joe Flacco in 2014. Dennison, like Kubiak, is a former Bronco and that cannot be overstated. Both men have invested a great deal into this organization and want nothing more than to see it reach the next level. Brian Pariani will join Kubiak and Dennison as the Broncos tight-ends coach. Pariani has also worked with Kubiak in both Houston and Baltimore. He is also well versed in the zone blocking system and how that impacts his tight-ends. The Broncos tight-ends will be expected to block and be an integral part of what is expected to be a dynamic running game. The most exciting potential hire to date is Alex Gibbs as an offensive line consultant. This is nothing more than speculation at this point but Gibbs has a history with John Elway, Kubiak and Dennison. He was on the 2013 staff but did not return in 2014 and the play of the offensive line suffered. No one knows for sure but the belief is that Gibbs had differences with former offensive coordinator, Adam Gase. Gibbs felt like the Broncos should be running the ball more and Gase disagreed. If Gibbs does return, the Broncos would be adding one of the best offensive line coaches in football and an expert in the zone blocking system. The Broncos had multiple 1,000+ yard rushers over the past 20 years and a majority of them ran behind offensive lines that were coordinated by Gibbs. The Broncos would also hire an offensive line coach but the presence of Gibbs would be huge. There are many more positions to fill including the most important one, defensive coordinator but Kubiak is off to a good start. The leader for the defensive coordinator position appears to be Vance Joseph who interviewed for the top job with the Broncos, and is considered one of the bright young minds in football. Joseph worked under Kubiak as the secondary coach with the Texans. Wade Phillips is also a name that has been mentioned. Phillips has deep ties to the Broncos; serving as defensive coordinator in the late 80’s and early 90’s before taking over as head coach for two seasons. Phillips may not be a great head coach but he is one of the best defensive minds in football, and it would be interesting to see what he could do with the current defensive talent. It’s also possible that Kubiak could keep three members from John Fox’s staff including; Eric Studesville (running backs), Gregg Knapp (quarterbacks) and Richard Smith (linebackers). Knapp and Smith have worked under Kubiak in the past and Studesville has been extremely loyal to the Broncos. As Kubiak continues to put together his staff, we will continue to keep you updated.