Denver Broncos need to prioritize having CEO head coach
By Jordan Lopez
With the head coaching search for the Denver Broncos still ongoing, many have a preconceived notion of who they want as their own type of head coach.
Whether they want an offensive-minded or defensive-minded head coach, everyone in Broncos Country is set with those types of coaches to lead the Broncos next season. However, everyone should know that there is one more type of head coach they should consider and it is the best one.
Some of the best head coaches of all time are not focused on one side of the ball. They always have strong leadership qualities, but most importantly, they oversee the entire operation. As a result, they focus on all three phases of the game instead of just one side of the ball.
The best head coaches are not labeled as “offensive coach” or “defensive coach.” Instead, they are CEO head coaches.
The Denver Broncos NEED to hire a CEO-style head coach
Having a play-caller or schemer as head coach is not always the best solution to head coaching problems. Unfortunately, a lot of those coaches that admire that style of coaching usually get fired and recycled through the years.
The one consistent and significant trend is CEO-style head coaches. Many of the great head coaches of all time had this coaching style and in today’s league, some of the best are CEO head coaches.
These coaches represent what a CEO-style head coach is and they are:
- Mike Tomlin-Steelers
- Bill Belichick-Patriots
- Mike Vrabel-Titans
- John Harbaugh-Ravens
- Sean McDermott-Bills
- Pete Carroll-Seahawks
There are other coaches who are young in their coaching careers, like Brian Daboll, Nick Sirianni, and even Kyle Shanahan, that are developing a style towards being a CEO than just a play-caller. Shanahan is an excellent example of who was once labeled as just a “schemer.” He has more control of what goes on defensively and input on special teams.
The list above is all CEO-style head coaches. There are more that can be added to the list or are on the fringe of making the list, but these are mainly the best ones in the league for a reason. There is an argument to be made that those head coaches lean on the defensive side of the ball more than offense. While that might be true, there are these styles of coaches that lean on the offensive side of the ball too. One of them being Sean Payton.
All these coaches can “coach the coaches,” as Michael Lombardi will say. The meaning of this is if they see something wrong in one of the three phases with the coordinators (or position coaches), they can fix and help the staff understand what they need to do right.
A perfect example is what happened this past season with the Denver Broncos. Nathaniel Hackett only focused on one side of the ball, which was clearly the offense. Butch Barry, the former offensive line coach, was terrible at developing the offensive line. Hackett couldn’t “coach the coaches” because of his coaching style. He doesn’t understand what it is to have that quality and oversee the entire operation like a CEO.
Coaches like Tomlin, Vrabel, and Belichick are not only the best coaches in the league but have this style of coaching. It is what makes them the greatest in the league at what they do.
Play-callers and schemers like Brandon Staley, Mike McDaniel, Matt LaFleur, and Kevin Stefanski only focus on one side of the ball. Can they become a CEO-style HC? Maybe but as of now, their only priority is on the side of the ball they are the “guru” in. Unfortunately, that is not a successful plan in the NFL and it ends up with not winning many games.
A few of the coaches that the Denver Broncos are interviewing have the CEO style of coaching. Two of them are allegedly the finalists in DeMeco Ryans and Sean Payton.