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          Five quick thoughts on the Broncos hiring Gary Kubiak

          • Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior WriterJan 19, 2015, 03:20 AM
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              Jeff Legwold is a senior writer who covers the Denver Broncos and the NFL at ESPN. Jeff has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years, joining ESPN in 2013. He also assists with NFL draft coverage, including his annual top 100 prospects. Jeff has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999. He has attended every scouting combine since 1987.
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          ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Five quick thoughts as the Denver Broncos finish the paperwork on a four-year deal to make Gary Kubiak the team's new coach.

          • The Broncos made this decision independent of what quarterback Peyton Manning decides to do next season. While Manning has never run an offense like the one Kubiak coaches, general manager John Elway said the team needed to hire a head coach first and work through Manning's decision at the appropriate time. The Broncos could not, and did not, hire a head coach with an eye on Manning and the 2015 season.

          • Manning and Kubiak are both smart, savvy and experienced enough to handle through Manning's return if it happens, but it will take concessions from both to make it work. As former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer put it: "They know what they're doing, they've both been doing it a long time and Kubes played quarterback. If they want to get it done, they'll get it done."

          • Elway and Kubiak will have discussed what might happen on the roster, because there will be some new faces. The Broncos have 17 players slated to be either unrestricted or restricted free agents, including several starters such as wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, tight end Julius Thomas, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, guard Orlando Franklin, safety Rahim Moore, tight end Jacob Tamme, tight end Virgil Green and wide receiver Wes Welker. Demaryius Thomas figures to get the franchise player tag if a long-term deal can't be worked out, but the depth chart will have some changes.

          • If you're a Broncos running back, and you can be a one-cut runner, you just won the football lottery. Kubiak's playbook grew from Mike Shanahan's playbook and the constant through the years is a productive running game. C.J. Anderson and Montee Ball were already going to wage what figured to be one of the best battles of training camp and now the carrot for the winner is an offense that has always churned out the 1,000-yard rushers.

          • It's a pressure-filled gig, for both Elway and Kubiak. This wasn't a team with four wins having played out the string since Thanksgiving. It was a team that won 12 games for the third consecutive season, has won four consecutive AFC West titles and has earned four consecutive playoff trips. The move was made, as Elway said, because the Broncos did not go into the offseason "kicking and screaming" in their past two playoff losses. The bar is high and a lot of eyes are on how long-time friends and former teammates add some more late-season edge to the Broncos' play.