Any time the words “taken to the hospital via ambulance” are uttered, it’s not a good situation. That’s especially so for a man like Gary Kubiak, who had a very public trip to the hospital after having a mini-stroke on the sidelines while coaching the Houston Texans a while back.
So, when news broke that Kubiak had been taken to the hospital nearly 30 minutes after he was answering questions following his team’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, scary would be an accurate description.
According to 9news.com, the locker room area scene was indeed chaotic as they scrambled to get Kubiak out of there.
“Security blocked off hallways so that an ambulance could maneuver to near the coaches’ room. The ambulance started to leave out the stadium’s south side players’ entrance with Kubiak’s wife, Rhonda, sitting in the front seat.”
Reportedly, Kubiak was still in the hospital as of Monday morning, but early word is positive:
https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/785468164159135744
Though Kubiak’s health is the foremost concern, Denver is in an interesting position this week with a Thursday night game at the 1-4 San Diego Chargers. Without Kubiak around the team right now, preparations have to be accelerated and the team needs to figure out who will take over should he not be available.
Likely, the team would turn to defensive coordinator and former Broncos and Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, though according to the Sporting News, offensive coordinator Rick Dennison remains a consideration as well.
Of course, the affect on the Broncos preparations for a Thursday Night football game pale in comparison to the health of Kubiak. Here’s hoping he’s healthy and back on the sidelines as soon as possible.