I wrote about this once before, but lately the subject of Alex Gibbs is coming up again. Pat Kirwan wrote about it. Then it was picked up by Broncos message boards and talked about some more.

Gibbs is the best O line coach in the league, bar none. He may be the best O line coach in the entire history of the league. But once he stepped aside for personal reasons, his job as Denver's O line coach was pretty much over for good.

He's spent the last few years mentoring Dennison. Should Dennison have been pushed aside so the legend could take over again? No. Gibbs filled exactly the role he should have, and helped Denver more in the long term than if he'd simply taken over coaching the O line again.

As I said in my earlier post:

“Let’s face it, after a faltering defensive secondary and half-hearted special teams play, Denver’s primary reason for losing games is that neither Shanny nor Gary are especially good motivators.
Gibbs, on the other hand, is a famously effective motivator.
Letting Gibbs go was just boneheaded. Kubiak should have been pushed out of the picture and Gibbs given the OC job. If it took Shanny and Pat Bowlen on their knees begging, or paying him more money than Shanny makes, or a free case of Eskimo Bars every day for the rest of his life, then that’s what should have been done.”

The loss of Gibbs is huge, organizationally, but won’t be felt very powerfully on a team level.

Players won’t notice much change, because Gibbs loss affects what could have been, rather than what anyone has known or expected. His ability to motivate the offense -- along with what should already be an extraordinary defense -- would have made the '04 Denver Broncos one of the greatest teams in the history of the NFL.

Mile High Jedi says:

“I'm not sure Gibbs was aiming for an Offensive Coordinator's position. If that were the case, why would he take the job in Atlanta doing the same thing he's done over the last 20 years or so.”

It's totally possible that Gibbs doesn't WANT an OC job. I doubt it though, because he did take on "assistant head coach" responsibilities with Denver (whatever that means).

Mike Shanahan and Pat Bowlen seem to be pretty loyal guys. They did bring Gibbs back into the organization when he was ready to return to football. So, maybe they refused to even consider getting rid of Kubiak because he HAS done such a good job with the X's and O's – just as they stated very publically and clearly that Dennison would not be punished because Gibbs returned.

As for Gibbs taking the O line coaching job with Atlanta, I suspect that he is a victim of his own success. Because he IS the best (and has been seemingly forever). I can't imagine that he would not have equal success as an OC, and if he ever gets that promotion, I would love to see it be with Denver.