Last season, in the AFC divisional playoff round, John Fox watched his defense get smoked again and again. Many wondered why Aqib Talib was covering TY Hilton after getting beat numerous times. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio made no adjustments and John Fox just watched as his defensive coordinator pissed away the season.
Media and fans alike wondered why the head coach didn’t do more to change the outcome of the game. This is a blue-collar town. One that expects effort, determination, and grit from the proud men who wear orange and blue on Sundays. John Elway, who understands this and also lives by this, infamously demanded that he would put together a team who went out kicking and screaming next time.
Fast forward to week six of the 2015 NFL season. John Fox and Jack Del Rio are coaching for losing teams that they had planned on going to all along and the Denver Broncos had kicked and screamed their way into Cleveland with an undefeated record.
Late in the game, the Broncos found themselves down 20-16 after Peyton Manning threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Gary Kubiak didn’t panic. He didn’t scale back the offense. He didn’t bench anybody.
He sent Emmanuel Sanders on a nine route on first down and Peyton Manning hit him for a 75 yard touchdown. Boom. They were back in the lead. “I just got on the headset and told them to be aggressive,” Kubiak told the media after the game. “It’s unbelievable, but we found a way to get it done.”
It’s actually not unbelievable. It’s totally believable that a coach who believes in his men and tells them to go right back out there and cut the throats of the opposition succeeds. Not only did Kubiak jump on the headset at the most crucial time of the game but, like a true leader, you saw him directing an offensive huddle on the sideline during the game. He was truly in control of the situation.
Gary Kubiak is not just the head coach of the Denver Broncos by title; he’s the luminary leader of these men. That’s not something you could’ve said about the head coach of the Denver Broncos last season.
