The Denver Broncos are apparently swinging big for their head coach in 2023 under the new regime, namely the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group. Team CEO Greg Penner is leading the search for the Broncos’ next head coach, and one thing that many have been critical of from the outside looking in is that the candidate list is too small, even at eight candidates.
Interviewing eight people for a head coaching search isn’t exactly a “limited” search — the Broncos have done even fewer interviews in previous searches — but it’s the specific names that are being left out of the running that has some fans upset right now. Could the Broncos be making the same mistake they made in 2022 when they decided not to interview Doug Pederson, whose Jaguars just advanced in the playoffs?
What about Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll, who each led their respective teams to the postseason? Every situation is unique and different, but the fact of the matter is, the Broncos should be interviewing some candidates that they are simply not. Who are they?
3 head coach candidates the Broncos could be missing out on
1. Shane Steichen, OC, Philadelphia Eagles
At this point, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen has interviewed for the Texans, Panthers, and Colts. He’s 37 years old and fits the mold of the young offensive coordinator whose coaching has resulted in outstanding success for a variety of different QBs in recent years.
Namely, Steichen has helped mold guys like Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts in recent years. Before that, he worked with Philip Rivers with the Chargers. Here’s what we’ve seen from Steichen’s QBs over the last three years…
2020 (Justin Herbert): 66.6 completion rate, 4,336 yards, 31 TDs, 10 INT
2021 (Jalen Hurts): 61.3 completion rate, 3,144 yards, 16 TD, 9 INT; 784 rushing yards, 10 TD
2022 (Jalen Hurts): 66.5 completion rate, 3,701 yards, 22 TD, 6 INT; 760 rushing yards, 13 TD
The 2020 season with Herbert — a rookie that year — was the pandemic year in which teams weren’t allowed to work out in person for most of the offseason. Steichen was tasked with coordinating an offense with a rookie QB who didn’t have a ton of on-field reps in the offseason, and didn’t even start the season as the QB1.
We saw how that all turned out.
Then he came to Philadelphia with Nick Sirianni and helped Jalen Hurts become a dynamic force at the QB position. The offense and plan they put together for Hurts has been so effective that teams can barely stop them.
So why would you not be picking this guy’s brain? Why would you not hear what he has to say about Russell Wilson’s 2022 season and what could be different? Why would you not hear his plan for a staff? His possible plan for a young QB in the future? The Eagles are one of the healthiest organizations in the league right now, why would you not ask him about what’s working there?
It’s something the Broncos could end up regretting.
2. Frank Reich, former HC, Indianapolis Colts
One of the more frustrating aspects of this head coach search from the Denver Broncos? It appears the team is really emphasizing experience heavily over the greener candidates. That’s not inherently bad. Retreads can be great — just ask the Chiefs, the 2015 Broncos with Gary Kubiak, or even the Jaguars this year with Doug Pederson.
Speaking of Doug Pederson, the one guy that consistently gets blamed for Pederson’s success with the Eagles is still looking for work in 2022 — Frank Reich. Reich has spoken with the Panthers, and it seems like the Cardinals are also interested. At this point, though, the Broncos have not reached out to Reich.
But why?
The team is clearly emphasizing experience, and Reich has head coach experience. He’s also done some good things as a head coach despite being thrown a major curveball with the retirement of Andrew Luck.
Reich is also an offensive-minded coach, a quarterback by trade. He’s got experience developing guys, and he’s got experience working with veterans.
How is Reich not on the Broncos’ list? What are we missing here?
Once again, at the very least, Reich could provide some very valuable insight into Russell Wilson’s 2022 season. He game-planned against the Broncos and Russ. He saw him on the field. It seems like it would be good for the ownership group to get the opinion of a guy like Reich, who won a Super Bowl with the Eagles as an offensive coordinator just a couple of seasons ago.
And yet as we sit here, they don’t appear to have plans of doing that.
3. Ben Johnson, OC, Detroit Lions
At this point in time, it seems as though Ben Johnson has taken his name out of the running for head coach positions around the league. He was considered to be potentially the favorite for the Carolina Panthers head coaching gig, but he informed them and other suitors that he is returning to Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions.
Johnson went from being a tight ends coach to offensive coordinator and calling the shots for the NFL’s 5th-best scoring offense at almost 27 points per game and that’s with the least amount of turnovers in the game (just 15 on the season).
The Lions had a top-five red zone offense, a top-10 passing attack, they had the third-most rushing touchdowns in the league, and Jared Goff has experienced a resurgence under this staff.
Johnson has been deservedly getting interview requests from teams, but not from the Denver Broncos. To be fair, it would have been a tough sell for the Broncos to move on from Nathaniel Hackett for a guy like Johnson, who is an ascending coordinator but not the most experienced candidate out there.
Can he run an entire NFL operation right now? Some more seasoning under Dan Campbell should help considerably.
At the same time, why would you not ask this guy his thoughts on your offensive personnel, namely again, Russell Wilson? Why would you not hear him out and ask him his opinions on your organization? Ask him about what clicked for his unit in 2022.
Broncos clear preference for head coach hiding in plain sight
The Denver Broncos have been interviewing candidates for the head coaching position, but is their top option hiding in plain sight?
It just seems foolish that you wouldn’t be talking to some of the best offensive minds in the game when your team has struggled so badly in that area over the last seven years. The Broncos may end up regretting not talking to these guys and it wouldn’t surprise me if Steichen and Reich become two of the better coaches out of this cycle.