A Gary Kubiak Chicago Bears connection wasn’t something fans thought much about most of this year. Understandable. The veteran former head coach has spent 2017 at home in retirement. Somewhat hard to believe give he’s only 56-years old and was one year removed from a Super Bowl championship in 2016.
So why did he walk away? The general belief is health concerns. Kubiak has a history of heart conditions and the rigors of being a head coach were wearing on him, similar to how they did in Houston as well. He just didn’t want to deal with the stress anymore. At the same time there was a small undercurrent.
The belief was that after a break he might consider returning. Not as a head coach of course. As an offensive coordinator. That job comes with far fewer demands on both mind and body. It’s his area of expertise and a position he’s held a combined 12 seasons. It’s second nature to him by this point. Now belief is growing he might make a comeback next year.
Gary Kubiak Chicago Bears move could solve a huge problem
As things stand there is immense dissatisfaction regarding the makeup and execution of the Bears offense. Dowell Loggains is in his second year running the show. Eight games into the season and his scheme looks nothing like the one from last year. The shotgun runs, the bunch formations, the creative scheming is all missing.
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People are trying to blame it on lack of adequate personnel. There’s truth in that but the inability to adjust is a big problem. Loggains has remained predictable and it’s hurting the development of rookie Mitch Trubisky. If the Bears are looking at a change in a few months, Kubiak might be a call they can make.
“Former Super Bowl-winning coach Gary Kubiak retired from the sidelines after the 2016 season due to mounting health concerns, but several sources close to him believe the esteemed coach will consider running an NFL offense in 2018 if the right opportunity arose. Several of Kubiak’s coaching assistants believe a return is hardly out of the question, and, given the dearth of coordinator candidates around the league, he would surely be in demand.
The rigors of head coaching and the stress and strain from being the daily face of the franchise are not appealing to him at this point, but the opportunity to work with the right quarterback and help an offense for a contending team would have allure, the sources maintain.”
Tricky part is whether the Bears are right “situation”
As always luring a big name like Kubiak will require two things. Money and a favorable situation for him to excel. From a roster standpoint Chicago has quite an argument. Trubisky is a #2 overall pick with the athleticism and arm to run the type of offense Kubiak champions. That means lots of running the ball and utilizing bootleg play action.
Keep in mind this guy made a Pro Bowler out of Justin Forsett and Arian Foster. Both were widely overlooked by most teams. Imagine what he’d be able to do with Jordan Howard.
He also got Pro Bowls out of quarterbacks too. Brian Griese, Jake Plummer and Matt Schaub are some of the names on that list. Whenever he had a talent like John Elway and Peyton Manning, even in their twilight years, he won championships. Joe Flacco had the highest touchdown passes (27) and second-highest QB rating (91.0) during his lone season with Kubiak in Baltimore.
His offense has ranked outside the top 10 just three times out of 12 seasons. This man knows how to create a successful unit, often with unheralded players. The question is can they get him? With John Fox’s future in doubt that might prove difficult. Extending him might help, or perhaps even promoting Vic Fangio in his place.
Fangio’s defense with Kubiak’s offense? That would be a devastating combination.
