NFL Coaching Blueprint the Denver Broncos should follow
By Jordan Lopez
With the NFL playoffs starting this week, there is a noticeable trend with which type of head coaches are in the playoffs. With the Denver Broncos needing a new HC, this may be the blueprint for George Paton in his next hire.
With the recent firing of head coach Vic Fangio, the Denver Broncos are starting to request interviews with potential candidates that can be the next head coach for the Broncos.
As of when this was written, Paton has requested already 10 potential candidates and it is a pretty impressive list. It includes:
- Dan Quinn– DC Cowboys
- Jerod Mayo– LBs Coach Patriots
- Nathaniel Hackett- OC Packers
- Kellen Moore- OC Cowboys
- Eric Bieniemy- OC Chiefs
- Kevin O’Connell- OC Rams
- Jonathan Gannon- DC Eagles
- Luke Getsy- Passing-Game Coordinator/QB coach Packers
- Aaron Glenn– DC Lions
- Brian Callahan- OC Bengals
Paton has six offensive-minded coaches to four defensive coaches and this should be a sign of what he may be wanting for the team going forward.
If Paton is thinking to go with an offensive coach, it fits the trend that is happening in the NFL playoffs with the most successful teams.
Why George Paton needs to follow the blueprint of hiring an offensive mind HC for the Broncos:
If we take a look at the NFL playoffs, there are nine offensive-minded head coaches leading their respected teams out of 14 total teams.
Let’s break them down by conference.
The NFC playoff teams this year consists of:
- Packers- Matt LaFleur (Offensive Coach)
- Buccaneers- Bruce Arians (Offensive Coach)
- Cowboys- Mike McCarthy (Offensive Coach)
- Rams- Sean McVay (Offensive Coach)
- Cardinals- Kliff Kingsbury (Offensive Coach)
- 49ers- Kyle Shanahan (Offensive Coach)
- Eagles- Nick Sirianni- (Offensive Coach)
So basically, ALL of the NFC playoff teams that clinched a spot are all offensive-driven with their head coaches. Sense a trend?
It’s a bit different in the AFC but when going into detail, the trend/blueprint is still there too. In the AFC, the teams in the playoffs are:
- Titans- Mike Vrabel (Defensive/CEO Coach)
- Chiefs- Andy Reid (Offensive Coach)
- Bills- Sean McDermott (Defensive/CEO Coach)
- Bengals- Zac Taylor (Offensive Coach)
- Raiders- Rich Bisaccia (Special Teams Coach)
- Patriots- Bill Belichick (Defensive Coach)
- Steelers– Mike Tomlin (CEO/Defensive Coach)
So with only two offensive-minded head coaches in the AFC, it still runs true on how it is successful. With the Bills and McDermott, they have a strong offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll who is getting interviews with teams to become a head coach for next season.
The same goes with the Patriots and Belichick. Josh McDaniels is highly regarded as one of the best offensive coordinators in the league every year and he is making it work with rookie QB Mac Jones too.
The only outlier in this trend is Vrabel and Tomlin with their respected teams. Credit to those two coaches who always find a way to win without having a strong OC by their side.
Unfortunately, there aren’t coaches like Tomlin and Vrabel out there to hire for the Broncos, but there is a lot of offensive-minded coaches for Paton to get. This is great because the list of interviews for the vacant head coaching job are mostly offensive coaches, which fits the blueprint.
Broncos Country should want a coach like this because it brings more benefits to this team. For instance, Hackett from the Packers. He is highly regarded as an offensive genius and QB Aaron Rodgers has even said some very interesting things about him too.
In conclusion, the trend is there and the blueprint is laid out for Paton on who to hire for the next head coach for the Denver Broncos. In my opinion, the top candidates should be Hackett (he interviews Saturday), O’Connell, and Callahan.
It’s an exciting time to be a Broncos fan as major changes are happening in the organization. It should be noted that Broncos Country should trust any hire Paton makes because of how great he is. Fans should be grateful that Paton is in charge and leads Denver into future success.