Denver Broncos

John Lynch: Gary Kubiak's 2005 departure hurt the Broncos

Published May. 18, 2015 12:38 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Broncos might've been Super Bowl champs a decade ago, had they not let a home AFC title game against Pittsburgh slip thorough their fingers.

That loss still stings, but one former Bronco thinks another loss ended up cutting the team even deeper.

“I just felt like, and looking back I'll always feel like we were never quite the same after Gary (Kubiak) left," former Denver safety Jon Lynch said. “I think (then-head coach) Mike (Shanahan) didn’t feel the same, have the same confidence in how we were doing things. I think Gary was just, beyond what a great football mind, was somebody who just knew how to help push a team along."

But after 2005 -- and that crushing loss -- Kubiak wasn't around to be Shanahan's right hand man. He took the Texans' head coaching job in the ensuing offseason, dividing the Broncos staff and sapping the energy out of Shanahan's team.

The Broncos never recaptured the success of that 13-3 season in 2005. They went 9-7 in 2006, 7-9 in 2007 and 8-8 in 2008. Shanahan was fired after that season and two years later, they were a 4-12 team.

All because of losing a trusted offensive coordinator? Lynch thinks so.

“I believe that, I really do," Lynch said. “ … It’s why I’m excited to see (Kubiak) back, he’s good for the organization and this is a good situation for him too."

(h/t ESPN)