Gary Kubiak Joins Vikings as Offensive Adviser/Assistant Head Coach

[cogitator]

So I'm curious what people think of the Kubiak hiring, come here, there's a thread on that (just as there should be), but oddly enough it's locked. Go to that thread and there is a helpful post, then a comment from Mothman locking it with a link to something that actually goes nowhere when I click on it. But I can see it's this thread. So speculation about Antonio Brown gets its own thread, a big news item like Kubiak is dumped into a thread with news about the new waterboy and hiring new cheerleaders (well, maybe that's not in here, didn't read it all). Anyway, this stuff needs to be broken out into separate topics, kind of a big deal, should be easy to find and focused on that one subject, not scattered among other posts. Come on Mothman, loosen up.

[S197]

On the surface it seems exciting, but am I the only one that sees some red flags with this?

1. seems repeating a pattern. Hire accomplished offensive mind. receive praise for recognizing personal weaknesses on the offensive side, etc. etc. But will zimmer try to micromanage how Kubiak "advises" And will Kubiak get canned by week 10 if he doesn't listen?? And how many years does Zim have to be HC before he becomes the "CEO" that is responsible for the TEAM and not just the defense??? It seems that Zim wants the best of both worlds.....to micromanage the offense but only be accountable for the Defense. Which is it???

2. Am I the only one who thinks this seems a bit like an act of desperation. They are panicking because they are finally realizing what many of us realized a LONG time ago (ie the day the deal was announced)......that they made a massive $84 Million mistake??

How they all gel will be key.

I actually don't see this as a continuing pattern but hopefully a sign of growth from Zimmer. JDF was pretty unproven other than a short stint with Cleveland and he was handed the keys. This time around Stefanski is given the keys, after definitely putting in his time, but gets augmented by a guy who has won a championship as a HC. Moreso, a guy whose proven he can put together a running game, something sorely lacking on this team and a known want of Zimmer. Given the lame duck situation Kapp described, I think this is a pretty good compromise and a decent contingency plan.

I think the "CEO" analogy is a valid concern. Zimmer may never be a nuts and bolts type of guy in terms of the offense and may always stay in a high level/macro type of role. It will be interesting to see the dynamic with this new assistant HC. Hopefully this time around everyone is at least aligned philosophically, I don't think this works under any other scenario. Denver had a great D under Kubiak, who knows maybe he'll bring more to the table than just input on the offense.

[Vikings CrucifiXS]

Apparently the Vikings have hired Kubiak in an offensive advisory role.

[youtube]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oopWZ6ocL3w[/youtube]

[Purple Domination]

I wonder how Stefanski feels no longer being the top dog on offense?

[Mothman]

It's a little funky.

The other issue is Gary's health. He's had some serious problems in the past few years.

It was why he left coaching, right? I was a little surprised to see he was returning. Hopefully, that means those health issues have been resolved (or at least have significantly improved).

[Mothman]

So I'm curious what people think of the Kubiak hiring, come here, there's a thread on that (just as there should be), but oddly enough it's locked. Go to that thread and there is a helpful post, then a comment from Mothman locking it with a link to something that actually goes nowhere when I click on it.

Thanks for pointing out that the link was broken. It's been fixed.

But I can see it's this thread. So speculation about Antonio Brown gets its own thread, a big news item like Kubiak is dumped into a thread with news about the new waterboy and hiring new cheerleaders (well, maybe that's not in here, didn't read it all). Anyway, this stuff needs to be broken out into separate topics, kind of a big deal, should be easy to find and focused on that one subject, not scattered among other posts. Come on Mothman, loosen up.

The Kubiak thread was locked because it was one of two threads that board member started on the topic (the other was deleted) and because that same board member starts a new topic virtually every time he posts, which simply isn't necessary. In this case, the topic made sense but there was already a discussion about the hiring going on here. That post was also obviously copied and pasted from a website in it's entirety, which is against board rules.

If you want to see a thread devoted to the Kubiak hiring, please feel free to start one. I won't lock it and I agree that it's significant enough to deserve it's own discussion.

You want me to loosen up. Other people complain about too many threads being started. It's impossible to make everybody happy. Thank goodness I get paid 6 figures to be a moderator on this board!

[Mothman]

On the surface it seems exciting, but am I the only one that sees some red flags with this?

1. seems repeating a pattern. Hire accomplished offensive mind. receive praise for recognizing personal weaknesses on the offensive side, etc. etc. But will zimmer try to micromanage how Kubiak "advises" And will Kubiak get canned by week 10 if he doesn't listen?? And how many years does Zim have to be HC before he becomes the "CEO" that is responsible for the TEAM and not just the defense??? It seems that Zim wants the best of both worlds.....to micromanage the offense but only be accountable for the Defense. Which is it???

2. Am I the only one who thinks this seems a bit like an act of desperation. They are panicking because they are finally realizing what many of us realized a LONG time ago (ie the day the deal was announced)......that they made a massive $84 Million mistake??

I'm not sure if it's an act of desperation or not but I think they're clearly feeling the pressure of high expectations (and they should).

I see the pattern you're talking about and the biggest red flag I see is the repetition of hiring a former head coach who wont be the offensive coordinator to play a significant role with the offense. It may work out well this time but I think Zimmer did basically the same thing when he hired Shurmur and that led to tension, offensive issues and the mid-season departure of the offensive coordinator. Many fans will see that as a net positive since Shurmur went on to do a good job as OC in 2017. However, undermining people trusted with critical coaching positions isn't great policy. I hope Zimmer, Kubiak and Stefanski are all on the same page in terms of offensive philosophy. I also hope Stefanski doesn't have much of an ego because from his point of view, it might look like he was hired as OC and then they hired a "boss" to oversee his offense.

[StumpHunter]

Love the hiring of Kubiak.

Kubiak is a very good offensive mind, and made Matt Shaub look like a star, minimizing his deficiencies while still putting up points. He is exactly the type of coach, sorry, adviser, this team needs

[Cliff]

I have split out the Gary Kubiak talk from the "hirings and firings" post so we can both have a dedicated topic for it but also not lose the conversation that was already going on.

[Mothman]

I have split out the Gary Kubiak talk from the "hirings and firings" post so we can both have a dedicated topic for it but also not lose the conversation that was already going on.

Thanks, Cliff.

[mansquatch]

This is a big win IMO. Zimmer wanted a veteran, former HC on the offensive side of things and Kubiak brings one of the most accomplished resumes in the league. This is not unlike Sparano working on the offensive side and providing valued presence to assist Shurmer/Turner, so I have some confidence that the Vikings will be able to make it work from a power structure point of view.

Kubiak has coached in and won the SB. IMO, this is a strong hire.

[Cliff]

Every time I see "assistant head coach" I think of "The Office". Assistant *to* the head coach.

Seriously though, I think it's a good hire. I think it's Zimmer acknowledging that he needs help on that side of the ball and is trying to get it. He is happy with his OC but understands he is new to the role and could use some guidance that he himself can't provide.

[Mothman]

Every time I see "assistant head coach" I think of "The Office". Assistant *to* the head coach.

Seriously though, I think it's a good hire. I think it's Zimmer acknowledging that he needs help on that side of the ball and is trying to get it. He is happy with his OC but understands he is new to the role and could use some guidance that he himself can't provide.

It does beg the question: why not just hire Kubiak as OC in the first place?

[Pondering Her Percy]

Good signing IMO. The more help this offense gets, the better IMO. I’ve always been a Kubiak fan. The guys knows offense that’s for sure

[mansquatch]

Every time I see "assistant head coach" I think of "The Office". Assistant *to* the head coach.

Seriously though, I think it's a good hire. I think it's Zimmer acknowledging that he needs help on that side of the ball and is trying to get it. He is happy with his OC but understands he is new to the role and could use some guidance that he himself can't provide.

It does beg the question: why not just hire Kubiak as OC in the first place?

I do not buy into the criticisms about power struggle and supposed questions of "who is in charge?" They had success in 2017 with Saparno in a similar role under Pat Shurmer. Stefanski was part of that staff as well, so he has seen how this model can successfully function. The fact they were successful with it in 2017 to me indicates we should give them the benefit of the doubt.

Frankly, I think having a guy like Kubiak in the room makes a lot of sense. Stefanski has had the majority of his career with the Vikings. Kubiak brings a level of experience that would otherwise be lacking on the offensive side of things. That is big advantage to a guy like Stefanski who while likely competent, can't match the experience someone like Kubiak brings to the table.

Also, they had intended for Sparano to serve this function under DeFelippo and he would have had he not passed away. If not for that unfortunate event, the Viking would be going into their 4th season of this model under Zimmer.

To me you take these things into consideration and the narrative of "who is in charge" just doesn't stand up to scrutiny.