2. What if Kyle Shanahan was hired over Vance Joseph for head coach?
When Denver was searching for their next head coach in 2017, there were numerous candidates that interviewed for the position including Kansas City Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
The Broncos top brass met with Shanahan in Atlanta and discussed numerous details of what they wanted in their next coach. Instead of shocking the Mile High City with the announcement of Joseph, Denver announces that the second coming of Shanahan will lead the team into the future.
This proves fruitful for the team Shanahan is very aggressive in the offseason to bolster their offense, as they sign TE Martellus Bennett and OT Riley Reiff to bring stability and veteran presence to the locker room. Then Shanahan makes a statement by trading two future first-round picks to move up to select Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Guiding the revamped Broncos, Shanahan utilizes a more hybrid west coast-run & gun offense to lead Denver to a first-place finish in the AFC West and the following year, get a showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship game where they win in a shootout 24-20 but fall to the Carson Wentz led Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.