Von Miller: Gary Kubiak 'Helped Me See The Light'
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - Broncos linebacker Von Miller posted a tribute to Gary Kubiak Tuesday, calling him "a leader who was believable, a man of high character who always had a plan."
Due to health concerns, Kubiak stepped down as the team's head coach Monday after a 9-7 season in which the team missed the playoffs.
"The hardest thing to do in football is lose," Miller wrote on The MMQB with Peter King. "Any coach can stand up in front of a team after a win, crack and joke and say, 'See you on Monday.' But it takes a real coach with a great understanding of what makes a team click to bring people together after a loss. That's what Gary Kubiak did, and that's who he was."
Despite missing the playoffs in his second year as the team's head coach, Kubiak didn't have to give the losing speech often.
His 24 wins were the second-most in the NFL over his two years as head coach with the Broncos, and the most for any coach in team history over that same time. He's also one of only four head coaches to win a Super Bowl in their first season with a team.
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"At the team level, he did the impossible right out of the gate, winning a Super Bowl in his first season back in Denver," Miller wrote. "He did that by navigating the thin line between keeping players rested and healthy for January and being competitive on Sundays in the fall."
He also did that through coaching, in how he worked with the players.
"He treated me like a trusted member of the staff, not a commodity to be monitored and steered into production," Miller wrote. Because of Kubiak, "I started doing the little things, like staying home and resting my body during training camp. He helped me see the light."
But the season-long grind that Kubiak helped the players navigate took its toll on his own body, convincing him it's time to move on.
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"For him, coaching is an all-or-nothing deal, and he'd rather walk away than offer less than his best."
Just because Kubiak stepped down, though, doesn't mean his work won't continue.
"I'll keep doing his work, fulling the missions he gave me, and I will always remember the trust and respect he had for me from the first day," Miller wrote.
