Peyton Manning with Gary Kubiak? No problem, says Jake Plummer

At this point, it's pretty clear Gary Kubiak is the far and away favorite to be the next head coach of the Denver Broncos. Everyone is reporting it, nearly as fact.  He and John Elway will interview Sunday. Other candidates are cancelling their interviews. With the Rooney Rule satisfied, as soon as Sunday night, the Broncos could be announcing their next head coach.

So what does that mean for Peyton Manning? It's also pretty clear that a lot of people are concerned about Manning's fit in a Gary Kubiak West Coast offense.

Enter someone who knows as much about the Gary Kubiak stystem as anyone - former Broncos QB Jake Plummer.

"Could Peyton play in an offense Gary put together? Could Gary make an offense for Peyton? I think yes and yes, there's no doubt in my mind," Plummer told ESPN's Jeff Legwold Friday. "Man, look, Gary is a great coach and great coaches change their systems up, they extend it, or tweak it to maximize their players' abilities. But they would both have to work at it, they both would have to find what was best for them on each side. They could do it, but they would have to put in the time to make it right. It's not an exact fit, but Kubes is a great, great coach and Peyton is one of the best ever. If they want to get it done, need to get it done, they'll get it done."

Plummer tells Legwold that Kubiak and Elway have surely already had discussions about how they could make a Peyton-led, Kubiak-coached offense work. And if Manning's prepared to leave, they'd be prepared for that too. In many ways, Brock Osweiler is more of a "fit" for Kubiak's mobile-quarterback-friendly scheme.

Plus, look at Matt Schaub, a Pro Bowl quarterback with Kubiak.

"And that's what you look at, a coach like Gary, look what he did with Matt Schaub in Houston," Plummer said. "Matt isn't the most mobile guy, but he flourished in that offense. What's great about Gary's offense is the zone blocking in the run game, then pulling the ball play-action and getting it out, or pulling it out in a half boot and then launching it back across the field. Great running game, big plays down the field, it's all-weather offense."

If Kubiak's hired, will he bring the fire? Will he go out (on top) kicking and screaming? That remains to be seen. But the questions about how Manning and Kubiak could coexist in Denver are overblown, according to a man who knows Kubiak's offense best.