A makeover of the Vikings' offensive coaching staff began in earnest Monday with the addition of a Super Bowl-winning coach.
Gary Kubiak, the 57-year-old former Texans and Broncos head coach, has been hired as assistant head coach and offensive advisor to coach Mike Zimmer, an NFL source said.
Kubiak is being joined by his son, Klint, as quarterbacks coach. Klint Kubiak, 31, served as Vikings quality control and assistant receivers coach in 2013-14.
Gary Kubiak is a veteran play caller and offensive schemer who won Super Bowl 50 as the Broncos coach following the 2015 season. Kubiak stepped down following the 2016 season because of health reasons and remained on Denver's staff as a personnel consultant.
The Vikings also will likely have new veteran leadership in the offensive line and tight end meeting rooms. Brian Pariani has been hired to coach tight ends and Rick Dennison is being targeted to coach the offensive line, according to a league source. Both Dennison, 60, and Pariani, 53, have worked with Gary Kubiak at multiple stops.
Reports surfaced midseason about Kubiak's interest to return as a coordinator. Kevin Stefanski, 36, was named the Vikings offensive coordinator last week. Zimmer sought to fill a leadership void created by the unexpected passing of Tony Sparano, a veteran offensive line coach and run game planner, last summer.
Stefanski knows Gary Kubiak's son, Klint, with the two serving as assistants on the 2013-14 Vikings staff.
The Vikings ranked 19th in scoring last season. Kubiak oversaw four top-10 scoring offenses in eight seasons as the Texans head coach.
The moves leave unclear futures for assistants Clancy Barone and Todd Downing, who coached the Vikings offensive line and tight ends last season. Barone was Kubiak's offensive line coach in Denver from 2015-16. Downing was hired by the Vikings as a senior offensive assistant a year ago under former coordinator John DeFilippo.
Kubiak's own path took a turn when he had reportedly agreed to become the Broncos offensive coordinator under newly hired coach Vic Fangio, but the agreement fell apart over philosophical differences and his desire to rehire former Broncos assistants Dennison and Pariani.
Pariani was Kubiak's tight ends coach in Houston, Baltimore and Denver. He has not coached the past two NFL seasons since he was fired by the Broncos in 2017. Dennison is a former coordinator (Broncos, 2015-16; Bills, 2017) who led the Jets offensive line and run game last season.
As a player, Kubiak was John Elway's backup at quarterback in Denver after being an eighth round choice in 1983 out of Texas A&M. He was on the losing end of three Super Bowls.
Kubiak started his coaching career as running backs coach at his alma mater before becoming quarterbacks coach for the 49ers in 1994. He was quarterbacks coach in Denver from 1995-2002 before taking over as offensive coordinator for three seasons.
The Texans named him head coach in 2006 and he was 63-66 over eight years, including 2-2 in the playoffs. He served one season as Ravens OC before taking over as Broncos head coach.
Klint Kubiak was quarterbacks coach for the Broncos for the past three seasons. He was a quarterback at Colorado State before starting his coaching career in 2010 at Texas A&M.
