Broncos could have surprise defensive coordinator under Sean Payton

The Denver Broncos' search for a new head coach was long, so I guess we should have all anticipated that the search for coordinators on both sides of the ball would take some time as well, right? As time has passed and Sean Payton has officially finished his work with FOX, he's now working towards finalizing and putting together his entire coaching staff. Announcements could come at any time.

For now, all we have are rumors and reports. Thankfully, there are known names and candidates for the defensive coordinator position, specifically. According to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver, Sean Payton has interviewed six candidates for the job.

Sean Payton considering 6 candidates for Broncos DC position?

As of right now, it sounds like six names are being considered for the defensive coordinator position in Denver. They are:

- Sean Desai (former Bears DC, current defensive assistant in Seattle)
- Kris Richard (former Seahawks DC, most recently Saints DBs coach)
- Rex Ryan (former Jets HC, has not coached since 2016, works for ESPN)
- Christian Parker (current DBs coach for the Broncos)
- Possibly Mike Zimmer (former Vikings HC, currently a consultant for CU football program)

Klis' report gives us some good insight about the DC search, at least in the fact that there are six candidates and we potentially know who five of them are. Although Klis didn't definitively say that Mike Zimmer was one of the six interviewed candidates, he stated that his name has been floating out there. Zimmer has ties to Sean Payton from their time in Dallas together (way back when) as well as obvious ties to George Paton with the Minnesota Vikings.

Someone like Zimmer would make a lot of sense, but it also stands to reason that there are a couple of mystery candidates that perhaps will come out of left field in this whole process. We know from reports that came out months ago that Sean Payton's top defensive coordinator candidate, in all likelihood, was Vic Fangio. Adam Schefter of ESPN had reported that Sean Payton was assembling a super-staff and that Fangio was part of it. Fangio apparently seriously considered joining Payton in Denver just one year after getting fired by the Broncos, but has ultimately decided to go to the Miami Dolphins.

Then, it seemed like the Broncos pivoted back to their own defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Evero joined the Carolina Panthers this offseason on Frank Reich's staff, and it seems as though he never really had interest in coming back to the Broncos (unless maybe as the head coach) once his good friend Nathaniel Hackett was fired. And that has brought us to where we are today -- in a very interesting predicament with Payton likely wanting a head coach of the defense, so to speak, and those options somewhat diminishing.

Here's something to consider, however. Payton has reportedly interviewed -- on an official basis -- three candidate who all have an expertise in the defensive backfield (Desai, Richard, Parker). It could make a lot of sense that Payton is trying to land one or a couple of those guys to stay on the staff or join the staff as passing game coordinators on the defensive side of the ball and hire a defensive coordinator who will have a strong background somewhere in the trenches.

It's just an idea and thought for the time being, but the title of "passing game coordinator" would be a promotion for all three of those candidates, and I think the fact that Christian Parker got an interview for the DC job at all is a huge sign that he's one of the top assistants from the previous staff that Sean Payton would like to keep. Considering the fact that Parker was poached away from Green Bay by Vic Fangio, that isn't surprising in the least.

So, is there a surprise name looming out there for the Broncos defensive coordinator job? It feels likely, especially after Rex Ryan's name popped up and Mike Zimmer's name has popped up as well.