Fixing your Denver Broncos: A comprehensive plan in 2022
Fixing our Denver Broncos: A comprehensive plan
Step 2 – Get rid of the biggest issue at some point
The biggest issue with the Denver Broncos is the head coach, Nathaniel Hackett. He is simply not cut out to be a head coach in the NFL yet. Maybe he’ll get another shot, but it’s clear that he isn’t fit at this moment in time. The 11-day mini bye week proved to be effectively worthless for the Broncos, and that falls on the head coach ultimately.
Now, I guess it’s not used to debate whether or not the team should fire him in season or after, because either way, the Broncos aren’t able to jump ahead in the head coaching search process by firing him in season. I’d just let it be known for the sake of this piece that Hackett will be replaced on the sidelines for 2023.
The next step in this process is to hire a veteran coach– likely someone who has done this before. The Broncos are not in a position to take their chances with another first-time head coach, which were the last three coaches for the Denver Broncos. Coincidentally or not, their previous two head coaches before that were head coaches before arriving in Denver and did enjoy some success.
If Denver was a rebuilding team, I’d say it’s fine to take a chance on a first-time coach. Denver does not have that luxury right now. So, which candidates come to mind?
Dan Quinn – Current defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys and former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He got a ton of looks last year to be a head coach again but ultimately decided to stay in Dallas. He has his defense near the top of the league again and surely will have a ton more looks. This is my first choice, personally.
Leslie Frazier – Current defensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills. Frazier has coached in the NFL since 1999 and served as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in the early 2010s. He’s a widely respected figure and has had his Bills’ defense near the top of the league since he arrived in Buffalo in 2017. He likely also has a ton of coaching connections as well and would likely assemble an excellent staff.
Doug Marrone – Current offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints. He was the O-line coach at Alabama in 2021 and has two head coaching stints in the NFL with the Bills and Jaguars. His record isn’t anything special, but he wasn’t working with a legitimate quarterback in either stint. He did help the Jaguars reach the AFC Championship game in 2017. Another likely widely respected mind who surely has a ton of connections. His coaching career began in 1992.
Brian Flores – Currently a defensive assistant for the Steelers after shockingly being fired from the Miami Dolphins after three seasons. Flores is a former Belichick disciple and is very young, being 41 years old. His coaching career began in 2008 with New England. Flores managed two winning seasons in Miami in 2020 and 2021 and had one heck of a coaching job in 2019 as well. Flores is another widely respected coach who is likely going to get many head coaching interviews. He also appears to be a culture-setter.
Raheem Morris – Currently the defensive coordinator of the Rams who was named the interim head coach when Dan Quinn was fired in Atlanta. He was also the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009-2011. Morris is widely liked around the league and, like many of these other candidates, will get some head coaching interviews this coming offseason.
I know these names aren’t the sexiest, but here we have a ton of coaching experience between these men. They’ve all served as head coaches before and have all had some form of success. Many head coaches are much more successful during their second time at the helm.
I would personally want the Broncos to hire one of these coaches. My top choice is Dan Quinn.
So, who would he bring in as the offensive coordinator? The obvious candidate is Brian Schottenheimer, who was the offensive coordinator of the Seahawks with Russell Wilson from 2018-2020. In those three seasons, the Seahawks scored 26.8, 25.3, and 28.7 points per game, setting a franchise record for points scored in a season during his tenure.
From 2018-2020, Russell Wilson threw 106 touchdown passes to just 25 interceptions and earned a passer rating of 107.2. This was easily the best stretch of his career. For the rest of the staff, you’d likely and hopefully get to keep Ejiro Evero as the defensive coordinator.
The other positional coaches would then be up to Dan Quinn to fill, but we’ve got our new head coach and OC!
HC: Dan Quinn
OC: Brian Schottenheimer
DC: Ejiro Evero