Broncos best coaching option at this point may be the one they didn’t consider

The Denver Broncos have yet to name a new head coach and it is anyone’s guess at this point as to who could end up with the job.

The Broncos have interviewed eight candidates that they have made public and each of those guys has either decided to stay where they were at (Jim Harbaugh, Dan Quinn), left without a deal or a second interview, or created a puzzle of questions within the media (Sean Payton).

The search for a new head coach has been confusing and there seems to be little doubt that things have not gone the way the front office thought they would.

So where do things currently stand?

Many fans and the media have now zeroed in on San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans. The “smart money” would be on him right now to become the new head coach, though the Houston Texans, a team Ryans played for during his career, is also said to be interested in him.

The other known candidates — Jim Caldwell, Ejiro Evero, David Shaw and Raheem Morris — would be underwhelming hires.

The chances for the Broncos to land a big name are dwindling although reports have surfaced about the team being interested in potential “mystery candidates”. However, could it be that the best option available now could be the one they didn’t consider too seriously?

Jerry Rosburg ended the season on a high note with the team after taking over as the interim head coach following the firing of Nathaniel Hackett. He had the team playing much better football over the final two games yet his name was not a serious contender in the search for a new coach.

Rosburg has never been a head coach at any level of football but his coaching career dates back to 1979 when he was a high school coach. At the pro level, he became a respected special teams coordinator but only joined the Broncos’ staff this past season when Hackett was having trouble managing the entirety of the game, things like the play clock, when to use time outs, etc.

Hiring Jerry Rosburg as Broncos’ next head coach is starting to make as much sense as anything else

When you are a coach at the professional level, it’s all about getting high-paid athletes to buy into your system. That seems to be an issue that Hackett had in his short run. But whatever Rosburg did in relief of him was clearly working.

The Broncos nearly beat the Kansas City Chiefs and then beat the Los Angeles Chargers with Rosburg running the show. He had players making plays we didn’t see all season such as Albert Okwuegbunam. Russell Wilson looked much better in those two games as well.

By hiring Rosburg, the Broncos would likely stand a good chance of keeping Evero on as defensive coordinator. Depending on how he rounded out the rest of the coaching staff, this might actually be the best move at this point.

There is nothing to suggest that Ryans, Morris, or Caldwell would be a better option. Ryans is gaining a lot of steam but as discussed here, this is not a good situation for a first-year coach.

Shaw would potentially be the worst choice here and if the Broncos were to hire him, it would be proof that they got desperate. No other team in the league even interviewed Shaw so if Denver really wanted him, he would already have the job. His connection to Stanford (where both Greg Penner and Condoleezza Rice have history) is the only reason he was even on the list.

Unless one of these supposed mystery candidates comes with an incredible resume or Penner and company are able to convince either Payton or Harbaugh to take this job, then hiring Rosburg might actually be the best answer to “what the heck are the Broncos going to do here”?