Gary Kubiak Named Vikings Offensive Coordinator

Kubiak has agreed to take over the job last held by Kevin Stefanski.

Will Ragatz | Jan 23, 2020

Gary Kubiak will be the next offensive coordinator for the Vikings, NFL insider Ian Rapaport reported on Thursday morning.

The #Vikings are turning to a familiar face for their new OC: Gary Kubiak, who has been an assistant head coach and offensive advisor, is taking over as the offensive coordinator, sources say. His impact was felt quickly in Minnesota and now he sticks around.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 23, 2020

Kubiak joined the Vikings last offseason as an assistant head coach/offensive advisor, implementing his offensive scheme but ceding play-calling duties to Kevin Stefanski. Now he'll be taking over for Stefanski, who left the Vikings ten days ago to become the head coach of the Browns. Kubiak becomes the team's fifth offensive coordinator in as many seasons, following brief stints for Norv Turner, Pat Shurmur, John DeFilippo, and Stefanski.

The news that Kubiak has taken the OC role comes as a bit of a surprise, as he had seemed to indicate on multiple occasions that he was enjoying his current role. The favorite for the job appeared to be his son Klint Kubiak, the Vikings' quarterbacks coach. Clearly, Mike Zimmer was able to convince the elder Kubiak to become a play-caller once again.

Kubiak will bring decades of experience to the position. He was the Broncos' OC from 1995 through 2005, before spending eight years as the head coach of the Texans, where he went 61-64 and won two division titles. Following one year as the OC for the Ravens, Kubiak took over as the Broncos' head coach in 2015 and won the Super Bowl. He stepped down after the 2016 season due to health issues, and didn't return to coaching until last season with the Vikings.

This move gives Kirk Cousins and the Vikings some much-needed continuity on offense. Kubiak's zone-blocking scheme, which emphasizes running the ball and utilizing play-action, helped the Vikings improve from 19th in scoring in 2018 to eighth last season. Kubiak's offense fueled career years from Cousins, Dalvin Cook, and Stefon Diggs.

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Published Jan 23, 2020

WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.