Broncos' Gary Kubiak addresses reported locker room dispute

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Shortly after the Denver Broncos lost to the New England Patriots on Sunday night, the frustration in the locker room was palpable. It was no secret as to why the team lost the game, and the defense wasn’t exactly afraid to share that.

Later in the evening, it was reported that there was a spirited shouting match between offensive and defensive players following the game. That news has made waves throughout Broncos Country since it came out, with the overall concern being a divided locker room.

On Monday, head coach Gary Kubiak addressed those reports.

“That’s okay,” he said of the frustration, with a tone that told you how obvious that was to him. “Hell, they played really good [on defense] and offensively we didn’t score enough points for us to win. It’s okay; it’s okay to be upset. There’s pain in what we do, and we put a lot into it. There’s no division, that’s just a battle, that’s part of football.”

“I would never let something be divisive, I wouldn’t let that happen,” added the head coach. “If I didn’t see guys in there bleeding and working and battling each other and those type of things, that wouldn’t be football. That doesn’t bother me, that’s part of the game, nobody is feeling good today. Did some people played better than others and stuff? Yeah. That’s the case every week in football.”

Asked if offensive tackle Russell Okung and cornerback Aqib Talib, the two players reported to be the stars of the proverbial show, exchange any further conversation to clear the air, Kubiak scoffed.

“They didn’t need to, it was not a big deal,” he said adamantly. “I’ve been in NFL locker rooms 400-plus times and let me tell you something, that was nothing. That was frustration after we just lost a game, it was nothing.”

In the end, like Kubiak said, the defense had a right to be frustrated; they had just held an all-time great quarterback to under 200 yards passing and less than 17 points. Talib likely just said what everybody else—inside and outside of that locker room—was thinking.