When the Broncos get to San Diego for Thursday night's game against the Chargers, they won't have head coach Gary Kubiak on the sideline.
Broncos general manager John Elway announced on Monday that Kubiak will be taking the week off. The move comes just one day after Kubiak was hospitalized following the Broncos' 23-16 loss to the Falcons on Sunday.
"Gary's going to concentrate on Gary this week and everybody else will concentrate on figuring out how to get a win down in San Diego," Elway said.
Elway said that special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis will serve as the Broncos' interim coach in Kubiak's absence.
According to Elway, Kubiak actually started feeling under the weather before the Broncos took the field on Sunday.
"I was talking to him before the game, and he said wasn't feeling well," Elway said.
Kubiak was admitted to a local hospital about an hour after the game and spent the night there before being released on Monday.
According to the team, Kubiak was "diagnosed with a complex migraine condition that caused extreme fatigue and body weakness."
During this short stay in the hospital, Kubiak underwent several precautionary tests, including an MRI and a CT scan. Although both tests came back clean, Kubiak was still given some medication for his migraine issue.
A big reason that Elway and the Broncos are taking extra precaution with Kubiak's health is because the Broncos coach also had a health scare three years ago. Back in 2013, when he was coaching the Texans, Kubiak fainted on the sideline just before halftime of a game in Houston.
After being admitted to the hospital for that episode, doctors found that Kubiak had suffered a transient ischemic attack, or a mini-stroke.
The decision to go with DeCamillis as interim coach and not defensive coordinator Wade Phillips or offensive coordinator Rick Dennison revolved around the fact that Elway still wanted those guys to be able to handle their responsibilities for Thursday's game without worrying about the duties that a head coach has to worry about.
"It could've been anybody," Elway said of picking an interim coach. "With Wade concentrating on the defense and Rick on the offense, I think that it will be a seamless transition and the players feel great with it, too."
As for Kubiak, the fact that he's sitting out this week means he'll have extra time to rest before he would potentially coach again in Week 7. After the Broncos play on Thursday, they don't play against until Monday, Oct. 24 against the Texans.
Kubiak probably won't want to miss that game because it will be Brock Osweiler's return to Denver.
