As the Denver Broncos round out their interview process in the search for the team’s next head coach, it’s time to take a look at each of these guys and rank them.
Of course, these personal rankings may not match those of general manager George Paton, who could see things exactly the opposite of the way that I do.
For me, it seems the Broncos need to go in a completely different direction.
Going back to the 2017 offseason, the Broncos clearly should have hired Kyle Shanahan. Well, Sean McVay may have been even better, but the Los Angeles Rams jumped on him. Instead, the Broncos zeroed in on Vance Joseph almost immediately. We all know how that turned out.
When Joseph was bounced two years later, the Broncos then turned to Vic Fangio. It was somewhat strange to hire a guy that had coached as long as Fangio had yet never been a head coach, but that was the direction John Elway went in.
Bad move. Terrible move. Perhaps an even worse hire than Joseph.
Now, we take a look at these 10 candidates and the only one on the list with head coaching experience is Dan Quinn. For that reason and for what he did as defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys this year, he is considered to be a frontrunner.
Many of the teams in the league have opted to hire a young, offensive-minded coach to take over and if you look at the eight teams remaining in the playoffs, that is the case with half of them. This is the direction that the Broncos should be looking in.
With some of those things in mind, here is how I see the pecking order of candidates that the Broncos are considering.
10. Luke Getsy, QB coach, Green Bay Packers
Possibly the most random name on Paton’s list, it has been surmised that Luke Getsy and Nathaniel Hackett have been brought in to possibly be paired together in Denver in hopes that the team could end up bringing Aaron Rodgers along too.
As far as the head coach spot goes, he just isn’t going to have the needed experience to make that leap from a position coach spot, even if he works with some of the best players in the league, notably Rodgers.
Getsy may have what it takes to be head coach material at some point down the road but this seems more like Paton wanted to look into him as a potential offensive coordinator than anything else.
9. Jonathan Gannon, Defensive coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles
Jonathan Gannon can’t be on this list due to what his Eagles did on defense this season because quite frankly, it’s not a good defense. So why is he being interviewed?
Paton clearly doesn’t forget those he has come in contact with as Gannon was an assistant defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-2017, during Paton’s tenure there. Clearly, Paton either heard some good things or knows some things about the man.
If Gannon were to get this job, which would be a shocker, it would be one of those where you just had to trust Paton’s judgment as there is really nothing to say that Gannon would be a good head coach based on results we have seen on the field.
8. Jerod Mayo, LB coach, New England Patriots
Another position coach and another guy who would make for a strange, out-of-nowhere hire, despite the fact that other teams are looking into him as well.
The Broncos replaced Mike Shanahan with Josh McDaniels many moons ago and that was an absolute flop. For that reason alone, taking another one of Bill Belichick’s proteges and bringing them to Denver should be met with some skepticism.
But he’s also a guy who is a position coach and for this team, taking a guy who needs to make that kind of leap just doesn’t make much sense, even if he might be the next Brian Flores.
By the way, why isn’t he being looked at?
7. Kevin O’Connell, Offensive coordinator, Los Angeles Rams
Kevin O’Connell has been in coaching since 2015 and has been an offensive coordinator in each of the last three seasons for both the Washington Football Team and Los Angeles Rams. So, he is building a nice resume.
Personally, I like the idea of trying to catch lightning in a bottle with this guy as he could bring some of what McVay does to the Broncos but there would be great risk involved in that too and this team, based on where it sits right now, should not be taking that kind of risk.
6. Aaron Glenn, Defensive coordinator, Detroit Lions
It was easy to scoff at the candidacy of Aaron Glenn when his name came up, mainly because he coaches the Detroit Lions. On top of that, their defense isn’t necessarily making headlines.
But there is something there with Glenn, who has been a coach since 2014, working his way up as a defensive backs coach before becoming a defensive coordinator this year.
He also spent one year as a pro scout for the New York Jets. All of this after a solid playing career that included three trips to the Pro Bowl.
It would be surprising to see Glenn get this job, but he knows all aspects of the game and could certainly be a head coach in the league at some point soon.
5. Brian Callahan, Offensive coordinator, Cincinnati Bengals
I am likely higher on Brian Callahan than most are, but he is a solid candidate for a few reasons.
For one, he is the son of Bill Callahan, former head coach of the Oakland Raiders and Nebraska Cornhuskers, so coaching is in his blood. He is also familiar with the Broncos as he was on the coaching staff from 2010-15 working as an offensive assistant and offensive quality control coach.
Now, he is the offensive coordinator of the Bengals who just might have the most fun, potent offense in the league. That smells like a recipe for what led this article off – a young, offensive-minded coach.
Callahan is my darkhorse pick to actually land this job.
4. Kellen Moore, Offensive coordinator, Dallas Cowboys
Kellen Moore is going to be a head coach in the NFL, it just might be a bit soon for that.
In the Wild Card round of the playoffs, he didn’t necessarily put his Cowboys in the best position to win that game. Could he come in and fix the Broncos’ offense? Possibly, but it just seems premature to give this young man so much responsibility.
Many don’t think this job should go to a first-year coach at all but Moore is young in coaching in general, having just finished his playing career in 2017.
He will learn a lot and make waves in the league as an offensive mind, but it’s too soon for being the head coach of a team in need of a jolt like the Broncos.
3. Dan Quinn, Defensive coordinator, Dallas Cowboys
It seems many Broncos fans feel that the team’s next head coach is going to be Dan Quinn, but it’s a move that would be questionable from the word go. Why is that?
Well, he’s another defensive guy and while he has led a great defense this year, that’s not the issue with the Broncos for the past several years. Scoring points has been.
Unlike Fangio, Quinn has been a head coach before but aside from that, it seems a lot like bringing in another Fangio-type to hire Quinn.
And while Quinn did take his team to a Super Bowl, he wasn’t wildly successful with the Atlanta Falcons, going 43-42 in his time there. That includes being fired during the 2020 season following an 0-5 start.
A key factor would be who Quinn would bring with him as his offensive coordinator because that would be the person in charge of reviving the offense and getting more points on the scoreboard.
Quinn could quite easily be the man chosen for the job, but it certainly wouldn’t be a move that should bring a ton of excitement with it.
2. Nathaniel Hackett, Offensive coordinator, Green Bay Packers
Nathaniel Hackett has been one of the more popular names on Denver’s list since the candidates were made known and he could easily be the man chosen for the job. That wouldn’t be a bad choice, either,
Like Callahan, Hackett comes from a coaching family as his father, Paul, was one of the better offensive minds in the league during his coaching career.
Hackett has had a chance to work closely with Aaron Rodgers while running the Packers offense but he should also be applauded for helping the Jacksonville Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game with Blake Bortles at quarterback in 2017.
I also feel that Getsy’s inclusion in the interview process is helpful to Hackett as Paton could easily be interested in them as a combo package.
1. Eric Bieniemy, Offensive coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs
This choice will be met with skepticism, but I’m gladly going to double down on what I stated right here.
Eric Bieniemy has been patiently waiting for a team to take a chance on him and it’s time for the Broncos to be that team. Take these words from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes into consideration.
Bieniemy is a guy that players clearly appreciate and want to play for. When was the last time the Broncos’ locker room had that kind of feeling in it?
Much has been made about what role Bieniemy really plays in the Chiefs’ success, but what can’t be so easily dismissed is the success that some branches of the Andy Ried coaching tree has had. That includes the likes of John Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Ron Rivera and Doug Pederson, two of which have won a Super Bowl.
It would be interesting to see who Bieniemy would include on his coaching staff if given the chance but this is a guy who has an absolute wealth of coaching experience, working directly under one of the best coaches in league history who just happens to have ties to Colorado as a player for the Buffaloes in college.
Give me that guy.