Report: Broncos Hire Justin Outten as OC, Expected to Hire Klint Kubiak as QBs Coach

First reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the hiring of Kubiak further points to Hackett and the Broncos’ commitment to implement the outside-zone rushing scheme and the passing game that plays off of the run look. Klint, son of former Broncos’ quarterback and Super Bowl-winning head coach Gary Kubiak, has worked with the outside-zone run scheme in every stop of his NFL coaching career to date and should help the team get back to a running game that delighted fans for years during the Mike Shanahan era.

This will not be Klint’s first stop coaching in Denver as he was brought on by his father during Gary’s time as the head coach for the Broncos in 2016. Even when Gary moved on following the 2016 season, his successor Vance Joseph kept Klint on the offensive coaching staff for two more years before he moved on to Minnesota to work with his father and the outside-zone West Coast Offense.

Klint did appear to be a tad overwhelmed as an offensive coordinator for the Vikings this past season, but it’s hard to say the team failed to reach the playoffs due to the passing game. Over the three years of Kubiak’s involvement with the Vikings’ passing game, the Vikings rank as the sixth-best passing offense in EPA/Play in the entire NFL at 0.148, only trailing the Chiefs, Packers, Titans, Buccaneers, and Bills. Over that time period, the Vikings averaged the 11th-best pass game DVOA as well per Football Outsiders.

As Broncos Country has quickly figured out, an offense is and always will be only as good as it’s quarterback. What will Denver do at the quarterback position? 

Given GM George Paton's past connection with the Vikings and now Kubiak, could Kirk Cousins be an option for the Broncos (especially if Aaron Rodgers isn’t attainable)? Perhaps.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Broncos have officially hired former Outten to be the team’s new offensive coordinator under Hackett. After being linked to former Packers’ quarterback coach Luke Getsy, who took the offensive coordinator duties over in Chicago, and former Packers’ O-line coach and run game coordinator Adam Stenivich, who stayed in Green Bay to take over as offensive coordinator, Hackett ended up hiring another coach that he'd worked with in Denver to help implement the scheme and vision he wants for the Broncos’ offense.

As the pieces fall into place for the Broncos, questions remain on the defense and the scheme the Broncos will run in order to slow down such juggernauts as Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. Still, if Denver is going to have a chance to beat those two quarterbacks' teams, the Broncos will not only have to slow down those offenses but also keep up by putting up points themselves. 

Denver has not been able to do that, but with the staff that Hackett is assembling on offense, there is hope that points will once again be on the menu every Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.