The Denver Broncos are less than one-third of the way through the 2021 season and after back-to-back losses, it’s starting to seem as though trouble is on the horizon.
Vic Fangio is still the head coach and his coaching staff that includes Pat Shurmur and Tom McMahon is still intact. How long will that be the case? Likely until the end of this season, at least, but after performances like the one we saw on Sunday, the discussion of who will replace these guys needs to get started back up.
I know what you’re thinking. It’s only five games. The team still has a winning record. Fangio isn’t that bad. Yes, he is. There is no argument to the contrary in my mind.
His team always seems completely unprepared. In-game adjustments are just about non-existent and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Shurmur and McMahon are both terrible, but that’s a different story for a different day.
Here, we are going to focus on candidates who could replace Fangio by the end of the season. And if this team does not make the playoffs, he should be gone the very next day. He’s not a good coach, hasn’t been a good coach and likely won’t become one at this point.
You’ll notice a theme with each of these candidates. No more of these defensive-minded guys like Fangio and Vance Joseph. If Fangio is replaced, George Paton will look for a guy who specializes on the offensive side of the ball and they’ll rebuild the team that way.
So, it may be a but early, but it’s also never too early to learn the names of some of the guys who could be on the sidelines at some point in Denver. Unless of course, you’re excited about the prospects of Fangio staying around.
Eric Bienemy, Kansas City Chiefs
Eric Bienemy is going to be on a short list of coaching candidates until a team gives him a job. Many have wondered aloud why that hasn’t already happened.
Is Beinemy’s success do in large part to being part of Andy Reid’s system? Others have said that Bienemy doesn’t interview well for open positions, but he also seems to always be in the thick of a deep playoff run with his own team when interviewing for these jobs.
The success the Kansas City offense has had is undeniable. How much credit Bienemy deserves for that is hard to determine, but he has had the chance to work directly with Patrick Mahomes and that kind of experience could be quite beneficial.
Bienemy also has local ties, having played for the Colorado Buffaloes during his college days. He still ranks as the school’s all-time leading rusher.
Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Matt Campbell’s name has been connected to the NFL for a few years now and it seems only a matter of time before he gets the opportunity to coach at the professional level.
Currently, he is the head coach at Iowa State and he has had a winning record in each of the last four seasons. He also guided the team to a win in the Fiesta Bowl following a 9-3 record.
There were rumors during this past offseason that Campbell was offered the head coaching job with the Detroit Lions but turned it down. Since then, reports have come out that the team never actually offered him that job, but every offseason, Campbell’s name comes up in the NFL.
He is a respected head coach who knows how to get the most out of his players. He has done that at Iowa State, where the team hadn’t had a winning season since 2009 before he got their. His nine wins last season were the most a head coach had at Iowa State since the year 2000.
It might take a great opportunity to get Campbell to leave Ames, but for the right amount of money and the right sales pitch, he could certainly see Denver as that opportunity.
Joe Brady, Carolina Panthers
Young offensive minds are all the rage in today’s league, that is why teams jump on them quickly. The Los Angeles Rams are in good shape with Sean McVay and the San Francisco 49ers have the right guy in Kyle Shanahan. Both of those guys would have been much better choices than Joseph when the Broncos were looking for a new head coach, by the way.
Joe Brady could be that next guy and he seems destined to be a head coach in the not-too-distant-future.
At just 32 years old, he is young. But because of what he did for Joe Burrow when the two were at LSU, he is already immensely respected. That led to him getting his first NFL gig as the offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers.
Interestingly, the quarterback he had there last season was Teddy Bridgewater and though the Panthers didn’t have great team success, he did have Bridgewater playing efficient football. To this point, Sam Darnold has been much better there than he ever was with the New York Jets.
If the Broncos want an offensive-minded guy who can get the most out of the team’s quarterback, Brady would have to be very high on the short list.
Brian Daboll, Buffalo Bills
When coaches are inevitably fired following the 2021 regular season, many of them figure to have Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll on their list of candidates to interview.
Daboll has done a fantastic job forming one of the league’s most potent offenses and he has helped develop Josh Allen into a perennial MVP candidate.
Daboll has a wealth of coaching experience that dates back to 1997 and he has had success coaching on both sides of the ball. He has been the offensive coordinator for four NFL teams and he has been part of coaching staffs for both Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.
Daboll would be as good of a candidate as many teams would be able to find this offseason, so there could be several teams interested in his services.
He would be a perfect fit in Denver for all of the reasons listed above, but if the Broncos feel there is anything left in Drew Lock by that point, Daboll might be the guy to get the most out of him. Remember, many people were down on Allen following his rookie season.
Byron Leftwich, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Byron Leftwich is quickly rising the ranks of top offensive coordinators in the league and with a Super Bowl ring to his credit, his resume is starting to look pretty good too.
A former NFL quarterback himself, Leftwich knows what it takes to win at the professional level. His close work with Tom Brady is not going to hurt his chances either.
It may be a bit too early for Leftwich to jump up to the head coach of a team as he’s only been in coaching since 2017. Teams may want to see him get some more experience. But if he were to win another ring this year, that could certainly expedite the process.
Like most of the names on this list, Leftwich would also be great for the relationship with the team’s quarterback. Leftwich played 10 seasons in the league for four different teams. He also went from being a starter and the perceived franchise quarterback to being benched before becoming a backup for the latter part of his career.
He would be able to speak and teach from that experience which could be highly valuable to whoever the quarterback in Denver is at that point.
Leftwich is still young and learning in the coaching game but he could certainly be a good wild card candidate to land a job in 2022.