HOUSTON — Gary Kubiak doesn’t do idle.

The 23-year NFL coaching veteran has been retired for all of a month and for most of that time has been back in Houston, his hometown and the host of Super Bowl LI.

The place is familiar — although spruced up for the week-long festival — and will always be so.

His routine, not so much.

“I want to work,” he told The Denver Post on Wednesday. “I still get up every day at 4:30 and I want something to do. Lately I’ve been getting on my tractor and messing around the farm.” Related Articles January 6, 2017 Jhabvala: Broncos’ lofty expectations raised with Kubiak’s exit

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In early January, Kubiak announced his resignation from the Denver Broncos and his retirement from coaching. But he left the door ajar to return to the game, maybe the league, too, in a noncoaching role. The former quarterback turned coordinator turned head coach — try as he might — can’t stay away.

Nor does he want to.

“I’m sure he’s texting John (Elway) all the time about that,” Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis said. “I found it interesting that he said he’s retired from coaching, but he didn’t use the words ‘for now.’ Because as time passes he might be able to fall back on those two words. But we’ll see. My guess is he’ll get back into football. It’s in his blood.”

More than three decades of football took its toll on Kubiak, mentally and physically. After suffering a mini-stroke in 2013, as head coach of the Houston Texans, and then a complex migraine following a Broncos’ loss in October, Kubiak’s stamina for coaching was questioned. Over the years he had tweaked his regimen and delegated more. But his routine was as much a part of him as the game.

“That’s how I’m wired,” he said.

Kubiak was forced to reconcile how he moved forward but it wasn’t until late last season that walking away as the Broncos coach became a real consideration. Now, returning to the game in some capacity is a real consideration.

“I’ve had some great conversations around the league with some people. Is that personnel? I don’t know. I talked to some colleges about various situations that are very interesting to me,” Kubiak said. “What I’m going to do is make sure I take a good break here — it’s only been a month — then I’m going to make a decision and go get after it. I’m hoping within the next couple of months I’ll decide on where I want to go next and what I want to do.

“My next stop is not going to be coaching, and I’m kind of excited about that because there are a lot of things about the game that I’ve always loved. I love evaluating, I love the draft, I love evaluating players and doing those types of things. I had some really interesting conversations with some colleges. So we’ll see.”

As Kubiak contemplates his next career, the Broncos have formed their next staff, led by Vance Joseph who, according to Kubiak, is inheriting “the greatest job in the world.”

Although he and Elway had had many conversations in the past about opposing coaches and coordinators on the rise, Kubiak said he wasn’t directly consulted in the search for his replacement. But his praise for Joseph — as well as Kyle Shanahan — had been known.

“Getting (offensive coordinator) Mike McCoy back and (quarterbacks coach) Billy (Musgrave) — Billy’s availability surprised the heck out of me,“ Kubiak said. “And I know (offensive line coach) Jeff Davidson real well. (Assistant OL coach) John Benton, who worked for me in Houston and who I think the world of, and the defense, you know what we thought of (defensive coordinator) Joe Woods. Between Vance and Joe working together, I think that’s a powerful group.”

Included on the staff, of course, are two of Kubiak’s three sons, whose continued roles with the Broncos ensure Gary won’t stray too far from the game or the team. Klein Kubiak remains a scout, while the eldest son, Klint, is an offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach, tasked with aiding the development of Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch.

When Kubiak told his players he was resigning, it was Siemian who seemed to take it hardest. Kubiak took a flier on Siemian as a seventh-rounder out of Northwestern. He watched him morph into a starting quarterback last season.

“Trevor throws the ball as well as anyone I’ve been around. We knew he was sharp,” Kubiak said. “Now, why couldn’t Trevor stay healthy? … Those are the things you’ll answer when he’s a 10- or 12-year player. He’s got to keep himself healthy. But his knowledge, his ability to throw, his calm demeanor gives him a chance to be a very successful player.”

And in Lynch Kubiak is expecting significant year-over-year growth.

“John and I both knew it would take him a little time because he was so young,” Kubiak said. “But he grew a lot. He didn’t play as much because Trevor was playing so well at the time. But Paxton is very comfortable with where he’s at. He knows what he can do and how he can do it.”