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5 best seasons for first-year head coaches in Broncos history

By Travis Wakeman

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 5: Head Coach Wade Phillips of the Denver Broncos looks on during pregame warmups prior to the start of NFL football game against the New York Jets September 5, 1993 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Phillips was the head coach of the Broncos from 1993-94. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 5: Head Coach Wade Phillips of the Denver Broncos looks on during pregame warmups prior to the start of NFL football game against the New York Jets September 5, 1993 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Phillips was the head coach of the Broncos from 1993-94. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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Gary Kubiak
DENVER, CO – JANUARY 1: Head coach Gary Kubiak of the Denver Broncos in the third quarter of the game against the Oakland Raiders at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 1, 2017, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

Gary Kubiak, 2015

When the Broncos chose to move on from Fox following a devastating loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional playoffs following the 2014 season, the move was met with some skepticism. After all, Fox won the division each year he was with the team.

But with a vacancy at head coach, it was immediately speculated that Gary Kubiak would be the team’s next head coach. At the time, he was serving as the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens but he had an extensive history with the Broncos.

Kubiak was hired and almost every fan loved the move. Granted, he came into an excellent situation with Peyton Manning as his head coach but the 2015 season would not be one without difficulty.

Manning took a step back in terms of his overall play that season and was dealing with injuries. Kubiak turned to Brock Osweiler to play in some key games down the stretch of the season and without what Brock was able to offer the team, the Broncos would have never been the No. 1 seed in the playoffs that year.

The team also had an excellent defense led by Von Miller.

But in the season finale with the No.1 seed on the line in a game against the San Diego Chargers, Osweiler was struggling. Kubiak turned back to Manning in a move that will likely stand the test of time in team history because without it, who knows how the season finishes.

Predicting stat leaders for Broncos in 2022. dark. Next

The Broncos would go on to win the Super Bowl which is the highest level of success that a first-year coach could ask for.

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