Surprise head coach finalist for Denver Broncos emerges
The Denver Broncos are narrowing their head coach candidate list, and a surprise name has been listed among the team’s three finalists.
The Denver Broncos are whittling their list of head coach candidates down from 10 to three, maybe four.
At this point, it appears as though the “finalists” for the Denver Broncos head coaching vacancy are going to be Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, and Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell.
Previously, it had been reported and rumored that Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon had made a significant enough impression to be a finalist, but at this point, it seems like O’Connell may have replaced him.
Kevin O’Connell becomes darkhorse in Denver Broncos HC race
Morning after: Mahomes is Michael Jordan but going to be tough for Chiefs to win it all. KC has worst defense of 4 teams remaining.
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) January 24, 2022
Meanwhile, Broncos GM George Paton seeks head coach who can either slow down Mahomes (Quinn) or keep up on scoreboard (Hackett, O'Connell). #9sports
The fact that O’Connell’s name is coming up now is really fascinating. Not that he wasn’t considered a legitimate candidate among the Denver Broncos original list of 10, but he was certainly not considered a favorite.
The fact that he’s in the final three makes you wonder if he’s really the team’s top option at this point.
After all, if they were just going to hire one of Quinn, why not hammer out a deal over the weekend? Is Quinn more interested in the other jobs he’s been interviewing (and will yet interview) for?
The fact that a deal has not yet been done with Dan Quinn sort of leads me to believe the Broncos are waiting or have been waiting for someone who still had games over the weekend, meaning Hackett or O’Connell.
If Quinn was the coveted candidate, you’d make him an offer and make sure he didn’t get a huge offer from another team.
Maybe I’m just being too much of a conspiracy theorist there, but that’s just the feeling I get from all of this.
It’s also worth noting that all four coaches remaining in the NFL playoffs are offensive-minded coaches. Quinn being a defensive-minded coach does not make him a bad candidate, but when six of the final eight teams in the playoffs have offensive-minded coaches and then the final four is all made up of offensive-minded coaches, you really have to stop and think for a moment.
Perhaps behind the scenes, a deal with Quinn was being struck and that is why he’s traveling to Denver for a “second interview” this week, in all likelihood.
So far, Quinn is the only one confirmed for a second interview with the team. You have to think he wouldn’t be making his way to Denver if it wasn’t serious. The Broncos flew all over the country to visit with these candidates and now we’ll see if someone other than just Quinn is brought to Denver for a second interview.
Will the Broncos let Quinn leave without a deal? Will they wait for the darkhorse to finish his playoff run and call him up for a second interview as well?
Will Hackett get another chance to talk to George Paton and his crew?
It’s going to be fascinating to see how this week all plays out as the Broncos had set an unofficial timeline of January 24-January 31 as the window in which they would like to make a decision.