If and when John Elway shakes up the coaching and personnel department, as it was reported on Monday he could be doing, head coach Gary Kubiak won’t be a part of that shakeup, nor is Kubiak considering retiring at season’s end, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Schefter joined 104.3 The Fan on Monday, saying, “I think that [Kubiak] will be back as the Broncos head coach next year based on what I’ve been told from various other people who often are right.”

Much of the speculation about a possible changing of the guard comes from the health issues Kubiak has faced in recent years. He suffered a “transient ischemic attack,” an episode akin to but not as severe as a stroke, in 2013. In October, Kubiak was hospitalized following a loss to the Falcons with what was diagnosed as a “complex migraine” condition.

Regarding Kubiak’s health, Schefter said, “I’m sure people talk about that with the health issue, but, again, I’ve asked people that. And the answer I’ve gotten back was the answer I just gave you, that that’s not an issue.”

Schefter did say that there’s still a remote chance Kubiak could reconsider at the end of the season, but all signs at this time point to his desire to return.

Another issue being raised, though, is the lack of offensive productivity under Kubiak in his first two seasons at the helm in Denver. The Broncos won a championship despite the worst offensive performance in Super Bowl history and the offense has regressed even more this season with Trevor Siemian at the helm. Denver will miss the playoffs for the first time in six seasons despite having a defense that currently ranks sixth in the league in points and yards allowed. The “Kubiak offense” has struggled to find footing in Denver, regardless of who is under center.

Given the circumstances (injuries, Peyton Manning‘s retirement, Brock Osweiler‘s departure, etc.), Elway is unlikely to throw the baby out with the bathwater when making the reported changes that are coming. After all, Kubiak’s offense worked wonders in Denver, Houston and Baltimore with the right personnel.

Still, if those changes are coming, it means someone will be out of a job.

Dan Jacobs and Ryan Edwards tackled that topic on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 on Tuesday night, suggesting that the best course of action wouldn’t be to blow up the coaching staff.

First, Jacobs and Edwards say, Kubiak and Elway would have to agree that the offense is not performing as it should and determine how much of that is on Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison before moving forward.

“I’d like to imagine a common ground,” Edwards proposes. “A common ground of let’s repurpose everybody and rather than firing guys, let’s just say ‘Okay [offensive coordinator Rick Dennison], you’re going to work on the offensive line’ – which he has experience with.”

That of course would mean parting ways with at least one member of the coaching staff.

“Maybe you do have to let [offensive line coach] Clancy Barone go. Maybe that’s a direction you have to go, because we can acknowledge that the offensive line jelled late down the stretch last year, but overall was not a great offensive line performance over the course of the year … but this year was an abject disaster along the offensive line and pointed to by many as the cause of most of the issues on the offensive side of the ball.”

That approach certainly would have a less disruptive effect on a locker room that just experienced a major coaching shake up just two seasons ago. And it’s hard to dispose completely of a team of coaches that in this same calendar year delivered football’s greatest prize.

John Elway hates to lose, so there’s little doubt those changes will be coming. But they might not be as catastrophic as some fans are calling for. Knowing that Kubiak will return in 2017 goes a long way to identifying just what those changes will look like when the book is finally closed on the 2016 season.

Listen to the full discussion between Jacobs and Edwards in the podcast below, including their thoughts on who makes the call about Paxton Lynch starting on Sunday…

https://soundcloud.com/milehighsports/12-27-16-ryan-edwards-and-dan-jacobs-what-does-gary-kubiaks-future-look-like-denver

Catch The Final Verdict with Notaro and Jacobs every Monday-Thursday from 6p-8p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.