The Denver Broncos currently have the richest ownership group in football. The Walton-Penner family has flexed their financial muscles a few times, whether it be consistently replacing the field in Denver, rebuilding the team's practice facility, or shelling out major money to bring in head coach Sean Payton, who only needed two years to break the second longest playoff drought in the NFL.
Subsequently, they allowed Payton to build out his own coaching staff, which features a few high-profile assistants who almost assuredly have some large price tags.
Broncos ownership group proving to be a massive competitive advantage
The Bengals, who some dubbed the single greatest team in the history of organized football, despite losing to the 4-13 Patriots at home in week one, are in need of a defensive coordinator after letting go of Lou Anarumo. Surely, if their offense is so good and they are set up to be one of the premier teams in football going forward, they'd do whatever it takes to get a strong defensive coordinator in the door, right? Well, the Bengals are reportedly not going to interview Robert Saleh or Dennis Allen, arguably the two best defensive coordinators on the market.
The major issue for the Bengals this year was their defense, which was one of the league's worst. After moving on from Anarumo, the Bengals do not seem poised to add a legitimate league-leading defensive coordinator. Saleh was arguably the best defensive coordinator in the league during his time with the 49ers, and Allen has been known to be one of the best defensive minds in football for some time.
The advantage the Broncos have over other teams is that they are never strapped for cash and are able to afford to pay some of the best coaches in football whatever it takes to keep them in Denver. The Broncos have an incredibly senior staff in Denver, including multiple former head coaches, former coordinators, and well-known assistants. As time goes on, several Broncos assistants figure to get lured to other jobs, including the likes of Davis Webb and Zach Strief as potential offensive coordinator candidates going forward.
As for the Bengals, there is one obvious reason as to why the Bengals might not be in on the likes of Saleh or Allen, who figure to be looking for large contracts as they are two of the better coordinators on the open market. As for the Broncos, they don't have that issue. We can thank Goerge Paton and the Broncos ownership group for their willingness to keep one of football's best staffs in Denver.