Gary Kubiak was introduced as the 15th head coach in Denver Broncos history on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, the first question from reporters concerned the uncertain future of Peyton Manning.
"Yes, we have talked. We talked a couple of days ago at length, talked a little bit last night via text and those type of things," Kubiak said Tuesday from team headquarters. "Talked about a lot of stuff, but the bottom line: We've basically come to the conclusion -- I know he's got some things going on, family things right now, and obviously, I've got a lot going on here the next couple days -- but we're gonna get together and sit down.
"The thing I wanna do is I wanna be the best support system I can be for Peyton. But yes, we've had some very good conversations, and we'll have many more."
Translation: Kubiak's guess on Manning's next move is as good as yours.
Kubiak was asked about concerns that his style of offense might not be a smooth fit for Manning. Kubiak's scheme could be seen as a factor in Manning's big decision.
"Well, it's easy to build a playbook for him," Kubiak said. "I mean, he's been the master at it for many, many years, and you're talking about a Hall of Fame player, Hall of Fame person."
"He was definitely at the top of the list," Elway said. "We did talk to (offensive coordinator) Adam (Gase). We did have a couple that backed out or wanted to see where the search was going because they knew Gary was the leader in the clubhouse."
"Our concern was: Did Gary want to coach again? Did Gary want to be that guy?" Elway continued. "I think that once we got a chance to sit down and talk to him, there was no question in my mind that he wanted to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos."
Other takeaways from Kubiak's introductory presser:
» Elway said the team is "excited" about the progress of backup quarterback Brock Osweiler. "If (Manning were to retire), I do have confidence that Brock could step in."
» Kubiak, who suffered a mini-stroke during a Nov. 2013 game with Texans, confirmed that he is 100 percent healthy and has a recent physical to prove it. He says the experience taught him how to better deal with the stress of the job.
» We had an entertaining exchange between Elway and a reporter who said the Broncos fostered a "Super Bowl or bust" culture.
Elway: Did you say bust? I don't think it's bust. Our goal is to win a championship. Our standards are to win a championship.
Reporter: OK, if you don't win a championship, you get fired as a head coach. I get that.
Elway: Or we mutually part ways.
Reporter: (chuckles) It's always a tricky thing ...
Awesome.
» Speaking of Elway, we sure saw a lot of him during a presser what was ostensibly Kubiak-centric in premise. Elway spent approximately 18 minutes at the podium, virtually the same amount of time as Kubiak. The Broncos may have a new coach, but this very much remains Elway's rodeo.
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