Head Coach
Gary Kubiak, the former backup to John Elway, came back to the Broncos after serving as the head coach of the Houston Texans for 8 seasons (2006-2013), and one season as the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.
Kubiak was hired to be the 15th head coach in Denver Broncos history, and the fourth since the team fired Mike Shanahan after the 2008 season. The team failed when they hired Josh McDaniels away from the Patriots. McDaniels lasted just one full season and part of the next year. Mid-way through the 2010 season, McDaniels was fired.
Eric Studesville came on on an interim basis until the team hired John Fox, whose history of playoff disappointments led to Fox and the Broncos parting ways.
When Kubiak arrived to Denver, he had the luxury of Peyton Manning as his quarterback. Not bad, not bad at all. Kubiak led the Broncos to a 12-4 record in 2015 and a 9-7 record in 2016. That comes after just two double-digit wins in eight seasons with the Texans.
After the 2016 season, when the Broncos finished with a 9-7 record, Kubiak retired from coaching due to chronic migraines.
After Kubiak retired, the team had to search for their next head coach. They chose to hire Vance Joseph, the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator. Joseph’s first season as head coach of the Broncos was one to forget, as the Broncos finished 2017 with a 5-11 record.
Denver went through an 8-week stretch in 2017 where they didn’t win a single game, week six through week 13. During that stretch, the Broncos were outscored 241-108. The stretch included getting shutout by the Chargers, 21-0 and a humiliating loss to the previously winless New York Giants by a score of 23-10.
Despite the poor record in his rookie season as a head coach, John Elway decided to give Joseph at least one more year to turn things around.
Now let’s focus on the players. The 2018 roster has some familiar faces as well as some new ones.