Denver Broncos: Rich Scangarello promises an ever-evolving offense

The Denver Broncos introduced offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello to the media and he talked about the type of offense he wants to run.

After watching miserable offenses for the past four seasons in Denver, it’s clear the team needs an upgrade in offensive philosophy. That’s what the team is hoping they have in new offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, the first offensive coordinator in Denver with a ‘new school’ approach since Adam Gase was round back in 2013-14.

Though they have had their time as effective coordinators in the NFL, the likes of Mike McCoy, Gary Kubiak, McCoy again, and Bill Musgrave are simply not what the doctor ordered for Denver’s ailing offenses, though all have been excellent coaches in the NFL at one point in time.

The Broncos may not have necessarily required a ‘first-time’ coordinator on the offensive side of the ball this year, but their direction was pretty clear — this team wanted a coach who was willing and able to adapt in an ever-changing league. Scangarello was tapped to be that guy.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan — Scangarello’s former boss and mentor — talked at the 2019 Senior Bowl about how difficult it was to let his quarterback’s coach go. As a matter of fact, the 49ers blocked the Broncos’ initial interview request in order to assure the team was actually going to hire him and give him a promotion.

Scangarello said at his introductory press conference that the ability to evolve and adapt to surroundings is something he learned from Shanahan, whose system is founded in his father’s famous zone scheme but is constantly being added to and adapted based on the teams they face, the division they’re in, and the personnel available on the roster.

What a novel concept.

The Broncos have been trying to fit square pegs (the players) into round holes (the offensive scheme) for four straight years because it couldn’t be the coaching or scheme that isn’t working — it has to be the players, right?

The fact of the matter is, the Broncos have consistently had at least decent players and especially so when you consider the way the 49ers ran all over Denver’s defense this past season with a much less talented team (let’s be honest about it) it comes down to coaching and scheme fitting the players, along with execution.

Consistently getting out-coached and out-maneuvered in the X’s and O’s department is a major reason why Vance Joseph was fired, though many in the media want to blame it on Elway’s impatience or needing a scapegoat for poor roster construction.

This is a Broncos team featuring the same offense that was able to scheme and put up 45 points on the Arizona Cardinals with a pretty creative gameplan and then barely be able to put up 20 points down the stretch of the season.

Why?

In my opinion, it’s the fact that the Broncos have had coaches set in their ways and believing in the specific way they do things, and that players should be able to execute their plan, rather than coaches who look at matchups they can exploit in the defenses they are facing.

It’s clearly time for a change of pace and even though Scangarello is an unknown commodity as a coach, the things he says he wants to bring to the table are a clear change of pace from what the Broncos’ offense has been in recent years.

And that’s something to be excited about.