As the Denver Broncos search for their next head coach, several dominos have fallen and some are expected to fall (by some) prior to the team’s ultimate move. Anything can happen at this point in time, but right now it feels like we can make educated guesses as to the team’s decision.
It’s not a sure thing yet, but it appears that Jim Harbaugh (once a leader in the competition) will end up signing an extension to remain with the Michigan Wolverines. Many people have wanted Harbaugh due to his previous NFL experience. Harbaugh led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl in the 2013-14 postseason. He lost to his brother John who is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
Sean Payton, who is wanted by several NFL teams with a head coach vacancy, has been another favorite to land the head coach job for the Broncos and while that’s the case, Payton returning to television remains a possibility. It really feels like Payton had just been trying to see what was out there by taking visits to various NFL teams. I’m pretty surprised that he wouldn’t want the chance to work with Russell Wilson as well as the defense the Broncos have.
As options appear to be eliminated with time, the Denver Broncos could be zeroing in on a specific candidate now: DeMeco Ryans.
Per John McClain, Ryans, who has playing experience for the Houston Texans, might be the favorite to land the Broncos’ head coaching job, taking him out of the running for the Texans.
Ryans has spent the past six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers as the defensive quality control coach (2017), inside linebackers coach (2018-2020), and most recently their defensive coordinator (2021-present).
I know people have wanted the Denver Broncos to hire an offensive-minded head coach to try and fix that side of the ball but they did that with Nathaniel Hackett last offseason and unfortunately, look where it put the team… with a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Maybe hiring an offensive-minded coach shouldn’t be such a necessity at this point.
Fellow Predominantly Orange writer Jordan Lopez came up with names of coordinators that could be on the Broncos’ staff, including bringing one of the 49ers’ coaches with him to Denver. There are some interesting names.
Last season Ryans’ defense allowed the fewest amount of points to opposing offenses. That’s something that would be intriguing to bring along to Denver.
Denver Broncos have more reason to hold on to Evero
The Denver Broncos could lose defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero to another team as a head coach candidate but they have more reason to keep him.
By being the richest owners in all of the NFL, the Walton-Penner group can get any coach they want if they are willing to fork over some extra dollars. That also might not be necessary depending on the candidates’ priorities.