Kubiak health scare reignites discussion on NFL head coach stress

Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak was in good spirits Monday, general manager John Elway said, following a night in a Denver area hospital after suffering a “complex migraine” Sunday.

Kubiak left Sports Authority Field at Mile High by ambulance shortly after speaking to the media following his team’s 23-16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at home.

But Elway said Kubiak felt good. Tired, but “he got a great night sleep last night,” the Broncos executive said Monday afternoon.

“Probably as good of a night sleep he’s had in a long time,” Elway said.

Kubiak will be sidelined for Thursday’s AFC West bout with the San Diego Chargers, as he’ll rest and recuperate this week until his expected return Monday.

“We asked the doctors and (they) said you need to put Gary first, so what does Gary need? That’s what they said. It’s a week that he needs right now. We’ll look at it again next Monday,” Elway said.

But Kubiak’s health scare comes especially distressing to those who remember or experienced the head coach’s previous run in with a medical emergency.

As the head coach of the Houston Texans, Kubiak collapsed while running off the field at halftime during a game on Nov. 3, 2013.

Kubiak suffered a transient ischemic attack, or “mini-stroke” as it’s more commonly known, and missed the following.  He would return to the sidelines that season, but was let go by the Texans a month later. He later served as the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator in 2014 before being hired by Denver in January of 2015.

In his introductory press conference with the Broncos, Kubiak called the incident a “scary time,” saying that he ran himself “into the ground a little bit.”

Kubiak said at the time that he checked out OK and felt fine, having “learned a lot” from his 2013 health scare.

It’s unknown if Kubiak’s most recent hospitalization had anything to do with the rigors of the NFL season, but it certainly struck a chord in terms of the head coach’s previous scare.

“Obviously it’s a scary situation with Gary Kubiak’s health issues in the past,” said DMac, co-host of 104.3 The Fan’s “The Drive,” Monday afternoon. “And I think that Gary had been trying to establish a more regular schedule, but I think the grind of the NFL … I think these guys may set out to do things a certain way, but sometimes they fall back into their old habits.”

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter called the life of an NFL head coach a “draining, exhausting, stressful existence” Monday on with “The Drive.”

“It’s a tough, tough business even when you have your health, and when your health is compromised it becomes that much more challenging,” Schefter said.

Alfred Williams, co-host with “The Drive,” said it’s unnecessary for coaching staffs to put in the kind of hours they do, saying perhaps the league should go the way of the player’s reduction of hitting and have a reduction of meetings for coaches.

“I think it’s a detriment to your health to put the kind of numbers of hours during a weekly NFL season that carries on into the combine and over to the draft,” Williams said.

9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis, also on with “The Drive” Monday, said Kubiak is good with getting himself and his staff time off when it’s needed, saying if all things were normal, he would have likely directed the team to take Saturday and Sunday off this week following a Thursday night game.

“So I think they justify the added hours they put in during the work week, when they’re working, the extra hours they put in during the day with the fact that they do get some decent time off elsewhere,” Klis said. “But that’s not how the body works. The body is not programmed to work 80-hour work weeks, which is what these guys do during the football season.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.