Inside The Vikings

Vikings Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak Reportedly Plans to Retire

It sounds like Mike Zimmer and the Vikings will be looking for their sixth OC in six seasons.

Will Ragatz

Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak is planning to retire, according to ProFootballTalk. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero has also reported that Kubiak is "leaning towards retirement."

It sounds like the veteran coach has made up his mind. After the comments he made last week to local reporters hinted at the possibility of being done, this isn't entirely surprising.

"Well, I've enjoyed it," Kubiak said. "I'm kind of year to year at this stage of my life, I think, as a football coach. But I really enjoyed it, I enjoyed working with the players, I love calling games. That's the way I grew up. It's interesting. I'll tell you, I've had my opportunity to be a head coach and I enjoyed that, but it was really fun to be one of the guys again, if that makes any sense. Back in that room teaching and being one of the fellas, so I appreciate Zim and Rick giving me a chance to do that, I've enjoyed it."

That quote seemed to be surprisingly heavy on the past tense at the time, but now it makes sense. Pelissero said in his report that "this is something that has been on Kubiak's mind for some time now." 

If Kubiak does indeed retire, the Vikings will need to find their sixth offensive coordinator in six years for the 2021 season. Prior to Kubiak holding that role in 2020, Kevin Stefanski, John DeFillippo, Pat Shurmur, and Norv Turner all had stints at OC since the start of the 2016 season. The only OC to ever hold that job for two full seasons in the Mike Zimmer era is Turner, who did it from 2014 until his surprising resignation during the 2016 season.

The 59-year-old Kubiak has already retired once, stepping down as Broncos head coach after winning Super Bowl 50. He eventually returned to the Broncos in a front office role for a couple seasons before getting back into coaching with the Vikings in 2019.

The Vikings' offense has been quite successful since adopting the Kubiak/Shanahan scheme (some central tenets of which are zone blocking, running the ball, and utilizing play action) in 2019. They ranked 10th in Football Outsiders' Offensive DVOA that year and moved up to eighth this past season.

There are some detractors of the scheme that believe it is outdated because of its heavy focus on running the ball, and there is certainly validity to that argument. Stefon Diggs basically forced his way out of Minnesota because he wanted to play in a more pass-happy offense. However, Kirk Cousins has thrived in the Kubiak system, excelling in play action and helping Justin Jefferson break the Super Bowl era record for rookie receiving yards this year. Having an elite running back in Dalvin Cook has also been important for the Vikings.

If Zimmer and the Vikings want to keep some continuity in their scheme and approach, they could promote an internal assistant like Klint Kubiak (Gary's son) or Rick Dennison to offensive coordinator. Both men have worked with Gary for a long time and would keep the same system. This is the safest bet for what will happen, given that Zimmer is an old-school coach who fired DeFillippo for being too pass-heavy in 2018.

The Vikings could also look outside of the organization for their next OC, though it's unclear who they might consider for the job in that case. Recently-fired Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, who is familiar with Kubiak and uses similar terminology on offense, is one option that is floating around in rumors.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

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