Broncos honing in on 6 targets for head coach early on

The Denver Broncos head coach search is well underway at this point, and the rumor stove is heating up. Over the weekend, more reports emerged regarding Jim Harbaugh and whether he’s trying to gain leverage with Michigan, Sean Payton and his conversation with ownership, and more.

One specific bit of insight from FOX Sports that is relatively unmatched when it comes to the “he said, she said” nature of any pro sports rumor mill came directly from Sean Payton, one of the top candidates to become the next head coach of the Denver Broncos.

Payton, in a very candid interview with Peter Schrager, kept things close to the vest but also made some very interesting comments about his potential future in the league.

Denver Broncos lining up head coach candidates in 2023

So, with all of that said, let’s take a look at the head coach candidates the Denver Broncos have already lined up for interviews or are requesting for interviews

• Sean Payton; under contract with Saints, Broncos have already spoken with him (not interviewed formally)
• Jim Harbaugh; under contract with Michigan, Broncos will interview this week
• Ejiro Evero; current Broncos DC, will interview this week
• DeMeco Ryans; current 49ers DC, Broncos requested permission to interview
• Dan Quinn; current Cowboys DC, Broncos requested permission to interview
• Raheem Morris; current Rams DC, Broncos requested permission to interview

Will the Broncos limit their search to these six guys? That remains to be seen. Last year’s head coach search was a bit more expansive and it involved general manager George Paton and the hiring committee flying around to NFL cities to talk to the candidates and interview them in person. This time around, the first round of interviews looks like it will be done virtually, which could help the Broncos move forward with the process of hiring someone rather quickly.

Also this time around, the search committee is being led by Broncos CEO Greg Penner, who is effectively the day-to-day “owner” of the team. Penner will be joined in the search by other members of the Walton-Penner ownership group as well as George Paton.

Here is something interesting about the candidates the Broncos have selected to interview so far this time around: Only two (Harbaugh and Payton) are offensive guys. The rest are current NFL defensive coordinators.

Another interesting note? Four out of the six candidates (Harbaugh, Payton, Morris, Quinn) have previous NFL head coaching experience. The Broncos haven’t explicitly stated that candidates with experience have a clear edge this time around, but that has been reported in so many words after the team’s last three head coaches — Vance Joseph, Vic Fangio, and Nathaniel Hackett — were all first-timers.

Experience doesn’t always equate to success. Retreads aren’t always the best options. Some of the best teams in the NFL right now are coached by men who were first-time coaches when they were hired by their respective teams, like Nick Sirianni with the Eagles, Kyle Shanahan with the 49ers, Sean McDermott with the Bills, Kevin O’Connell of the Vikings, Zac Taylor of the Bengals…

You get the idea.

Just because it feels like the Broncos need to “zig” and go with a retread after “zagging” on some first-time candidates the last few cycles doesn’t mean that’s the right thing to do. But it also might be.

Once upon a time, John Fox was the perfect guy for the Broncos’ job. Same with Gary Kubiak. The same could be said of Doug Pederson this year for the Jaguars, or Andy Reid once upon a time for the Chiefs.

5 significant, noticeable differences from the Broncos without Hackett

The result was the same (a loss) but there were some notable and significant differences for the Denver Broncos in their first game post-Nathaniel Hackett.

There’s not really an exact science to this, you just have to find the right fit for your team. Hopefully, Penner has a sharp eye for it in his first-ever NFL head coach search.