John Lynch speaks at the Celebration of Life for Junior Seau at Qualcomm Stadium. (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

Former Denver Broncos safety John Lynch was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013 on Thursday.

Lynch played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 11 years, and for the Broncos for four years before retiring after the 2007 season. He ended his career with 490 tackles, 13 sacks, 26 interceptions, and 10 forced fumbles.

Lynch continues to make his home in Denver, and took to being a color commentator on Fox.

“The best hit, it’s like hitting a homerun. You hit a home run right on that sweet spot, you don’t feel it. It just feels so pure, and the same way with hitting. When you get a good one, you don’t feel anything. It’s a rush. You get it through your body. There’s nothing better than that in football.” – John Lynch (Moment of Impact)

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Mike McCoy during the game against the Oakland Raiders. (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

John Fox, Peyton Manning, and John Gruden spent hours upon hours discussing football in John Lynch’s basement last week. Could you imagine being a fly on that wall?

“Watching Gruden and Peyton go at it just talking ball, I wish I could have had that conversation when I was still playing,” Lynch said. “I learned a lot last night.”

Gruden brought tape for Manning to watch, and the four men who have a long history in the NFL got together to teach each other a few things.

There may be no one outside of the Broncos organization more excited to see Manning and Fox partner up than Gruden.

“I’m excited he hooked up with John Fox, a veteran coach, a defensive coach,” Gruden said. “I think it’s going to allow Peyton to really flourish in a new setting because he’s got an experienced head coach. I know what John Fox’s record is when they’ve scored over 25 points per game. It’s pretty impressive. I know Peyton Manning for 14 years has been slicing people up for about 25 points per game.”

The right elements are in place for an offensive explosion, but a lot of the success that the Broncos have on offense depends on offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

McCoy has proven to be adaptable, tailoring his playbook to suit the players that he has on the roster. Make no mistake, however. The zone-read is a thing of the past with Manning under center.

“He’s very flexible,” McCoy said of what Manning wants. “He wants some new ideas…There’s a lot of things that he hasn’t done that he’s excited to look at. Get in some two back situations…We’ve had a lot of success with that here.”

When it comes down to it, this is Manning’s show and McCoy is merely the back stage director. That’s how things were in Indianapolis and that’s how things will be in Denver.

“When a guy’s played as long as he has, it’s not going to take him a long time to figure it out,” McCoy said of Manning.”He doesn’t need from week to week all the reps that a younger player needs because he’s seen it…The way Peyton works and the way he wants to work is unbelievable.”

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Champ Bailey is one of two players on the Broncos' defense who will have his seventh coordinator in seven years. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

One of the top story lines heading into last week’s NFC Championship Game was the hindered development of San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Alex Smith.  Coming out of college at Utah, he was the first pick of the NFL draft and was shouldered with high exceptions that he would return their franchise to the glory days of Joe Montana and Steve Young.  Seven years and seven offensive coordinators later, Smith had finally led his squad to the brink of the Super Bowl.

Is it any wonder that it took him so long to fulfill the expectations of a first round draft pick?  Every year a new offensive coordinator would come in and change what had been established the year prior.  What could a bit of consistency do for his development?

 “Each man had a new idea of how an NFL offense should look and how Smith fit into their system.  Some liked Smith more than others.  Every spring meant a new playbook.” -Gregg Rosenthal, NBC Sports

 This spring will mean a new defensive playbook for the Denver Broncos.  Actually, like for Smith, it will be the seventh playbook in seven springs.  Two stalwart veterans of the Broncos’ defense, Champ Bailey and D.J. Williams will be in the same position the 49ers’ quarterback was in as the Broncos look to bring in their seventh defensive coordinator in seven years.

Before we look forward to what the Broncos should look for in a defensive coordinator, let’s take a look back at the last six men to lead the Broncos’ defense:

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