Kubiak talks future with Minnesota & breaks my ? in the process
Joe Johnson
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Follow me on Twitter (@vtPTSD) to get Chris Tomasson from the Pioneer Press’ takes/stories half-a-day later?!?
I say that because the Pioneer Press’ Tomasson has been on a roll as of late with his Minnesota Vikings stories. I’ve covered a couple recently, including his interview with current (in more ways than one) right tackle Brian O’Neill:
Today? Something that was short in length but massive in terms of what it means to the Vikings future. Gary Kubiak has been with the Vikings for nearly two full-seasons now, one as an offensive “advisor” and this season as the full on offensive coordinator.
While many have bemoaned “his” conservatism (I use air quotes because if you compare his 2020 to his career? You’ll see that he’s clearly not calling the game the way he normally would).
I’m a fan of Kubiak, as he’s brought success to every single team that has hired him. I used to think that having Kubiak as the head coach, while demoting Mike Zimmer to defensive coordinator was as pointless as it is unrealistic.
It was a bad take, but considering the fact that the Vikings are a small upset away from going the 6-10 I predicted this pre-season. Which, should give me the top job at every place for sports Betting in Michigan.
Zimmer, I used to argue, is so hands off with the Vikings offensive game-plan that it wouldn’t make much difference if Kubiak was OC or HC.
As the article above shows, though, Zimmer clearly has a pretty massive impact on the risk averse offense the Vikings run and it’s hard to argue that it’s anything but a detriment.
If a head coach is really so risk averse that he hamstrings what is one of the most talented skill position offense in the league despite having one of the most accurate QBs in league history?
That’s an issue, clearly, but also especially infuriating because he also chooses to not invest in the most important position group, the offensive line, which massively increases the sort of risk he clearly hates more than a magic eye poster.
The hope, then, for me is that Kubiak outlasts Zimmer (who will get a pass for 2020 thanks to the injury bug the team caught on defense this season) as I have a feeling that we haven’t heard the last about Zimmer’s unique style of management and the apparent animosity everywhere in the Vikings organization toward him and by him. Think FUBU, but FZBZ.
Magic eye posters and FUBU references?
(4) How Do You Do Fellow Kids? – 30 Rock – YouTube
That hope may be hopeless, as Kubiak retired from his most recent head coaching gig for health reasons. Most (non-Zimmer) head coaches routinely turn in 100 work weeks, and that doesn’t sound like something THIS guy wants any part of:
Then again, some (non-Zimmer) guys love football and coaching, and it sounds like Kubiak is one of those guys. In a recent Strib piece, Kubiak initially stated he came here as a help to his boy Zim.
The article says:
“And last but certainly not least, he said, “I love working for Coach Zimmer because I love how he runs his club and how he tries to win.” And, no, that’s not a universal feeling among all who have worked for Zimmer.
In other words, Kubiak and Zimmer are the rum and Coke of coaching compadres compared to the oil and water that was Zimmer and John DeFilippo, who lasted all of 13 games as offensive coordinator.”
Kubiak also said in that piece:
“I wouldn’t be back doing this in just any old situation,” Kubiak said. “When I stepped down and went into the personnel side of things in Denver, I was happy.”
And…
“ ‘Not as fulfilled’ is how I’d describe those two years for him,” Klint said of the 2017 and ’18 seasons his father spent in the Broncos front office. “The reward of having to win and lose every day. I don’t think he got that feeling staying behind a desk.”
So what does Tomasson have to do with this?
I have a feeling that if health wasn’t an issue, from a guy who also had a “mini” stroke on the sidelines of a prime time game as the head coach in Houston, I believe Kubiak would still be the head coach in Denver. I’m not sure he’d even want to replace Zimmer beyond that, as they sound like the type of unit that Zimmer has tried and failed to find since 2014.
Just ask Norv Turner, who “retired” mid-season and then immediately unretired elsewhere.
If Zimmer would allow Kubiak (or the Kubes, as the cool teens like me call him) to play his game? We wouldn’t need to parse this article this way. But, this offense NEEDS to be elite even when Zimmer’s defense is rebuilt as we saw in 2017/18/19.
The peak of Zimmer’s defense first team building has been getting embarrassed in the playoffs every other season. With an offense like the Vikings have in 2020? They could’ve potentially done something different in 2017 had they had this offense.
Or rather, the offensive talent this team has with Kubiak not running the ball 12-15% more than he normally would. The Vikings have another amazing 1-2 punch at receiver, you should check how Kubiak handled having Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders with Peyton Manning’s undead corpse running the offense. Spoiler Alert: They won a Super Bowl.
To hear Kubiak is year-to-year basically puts the nail in the coffin for any future head coaching gigs from the Kubes. He sounds like he believes in what the team is doing and wants to see this thing out, but he is also cognizant more than anyone of what it’d take to run a team and what that’d mean for his health and that’s clearly the most important thing.
But it’s fun to dream of a world after Zimmer.