Broncos name DeCamillis interim head coach, Kubiak out this week

UPDATE: Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak made a statement through the team Monday evening:

“I’m feeling much better and am thankful for everyone’s thoughts and well-wishes. It’s tough not being there with our team this week, but I’ve got great confidence in Joe D, our coordinators and coaching staff, and all of our players.

“Greek and the medical team did an outstanding job taking care of me and getting this figured out. I’ve made a lot of positive changes health-wise in recent years and will continue to listen to doctors.

“I’ll be at home this week, resting and getting healthy, and I look forward to rejoining our team on Monday.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

Denver Broncos special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis will take over head coach duties for the team this week after a “complex migraine” sent Gary Kubiak to a Denver-area hospital Sunday night following the team’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Kubiak was hospitalized overnight with the ailment after being taken by ambulance from Sports Authority Field at Mile High shortly after concluding his postgame press conference.

The veteran coach underwent several precautionary tests at the hospital, including an MRI and CT scan, both of which came back normal. Kubiak was then diagnosed with a “complex migraine condition” that caused extreme fatigue and body weakness.

Speaking to the media Monday after, Broncos general manager John Elway said Kubiak was on his way home but welcomed the prognosis.

“I’m not a doctor, so that is about as far as I’m going to go into that. But they thought prognosis for him was very, very good,” Elway said.

Elway said Kubiak will take the week off to rest and get health.

“He’s going to be back on Monday, but he’s going to take this week and take care of some of those issues and find out if there are some different triggers.” Elway said. “We’re just excited that Gary is OK and that the prognosis looks great.”

DeCamillis has been in the NFL since 1988, serving as the special teams coordinator for the Broncos until 1992. He interviewed for the Chicago Bears head coaching spot in 2013 but ended up signing as an assistant head coach and special teams coordinator.

After the Bears let him go in early 2015, the Broncos quickly scooped up DeCamillis, adding him again as its special teams coordinator.

The longtime coach knows he’s stepping into a special situation.

“I think the greatest thing, like John (Elway) talked about, we have a great staff. ‘Kubes’ set a template for us. It’s seamless because he’s not a micromanager. He does so many good things for us, and he lets a lot of our guys do their job to the utmost anyways,” DeCamillis said.

With an important divisional game coming up on Thursday night, DeCamillis is confident in the team’s ability to work through this situation.

“We don’t see a big change this week. We’re going to try to keep whatever we can do to win a game, that’s the main thing,” he said. “I think with our staff that’s going to be a real seamless transition.”

DeCamillis is known for his high-energy style, and his approach should be no different now that he’s working as the interim head coach. Elway revealed that DeCamillis is already involved in game management with Kubiak and director of football analytics Mitch Tanney.

When asked who would be starting at quarterback on Thursday night, DeCamillis laughed and said, “We have a lot of guys we are evaluating this week.”

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