2022 Coaching Candidates

[BroncoBruin]

The way things are trending, Fangio/Shurmur/McMahon being out is a certainty by January at worst, so what direction do we expect the Broncos to move in? A lot of core players are hitting free agency and there are clear talent deficiencies across the roster, most notably not having a QB. 

Will they zag 100%, go for the young offensive mind and immediately try to pair them with a QB?  Kellen Moore makes sense but I suspect Jerry will pay him well and keep him happy as OC until he can’t resist firing McCarthy and making Moore his HC. Lincoln Riley just doesn’t seem attainable. 

Do they hire a “leader of men” and focus on the culture building component of this rebuild? I don’t see Tomlin or Harbaugh as options, but Dan Quinn would fit that profile and there’s a connection to Paton. 

in Minnesota, if they miss the playoffs I wouldn’t be surprised if they move on from Zimmer. Would he come in as a DC or even HC? 

Also, are there any assistants we’d like to see stick around through the regime change? 

[bMiller031]

31 minutes ago, BroncoBruin said:

The way things are trending, Fangio/Shurmur/McMahon being out is a certainty by January at worst, so what direction do we expect the Broncos to move in? A lot of core players are hitting free agency and there are clear talent deficiencies across the roster, most notably not having a QB. 

Will they zag 100%, go for the young offensive mind and immediately try to pair them with a QB?  Kellen Moore makes sense but I suspect Jerry will pay him well and keep him happy as OC until he can’t resist firing McCarthy and making Moore his HC. Lincoln Riley just doesn’t seem attainable. 

Do they hire a “leader of men” and focus on the culture building component of this rebuild? I don’t see Tomlin or Harbaugh as options, but Dan Quinn would fit that profile and there’s a connection to Paton. 

in Minnesota, if they miss the playoffs I wouldn’t be surprised if they move on from Zimmer. Would he come in as a DC or even HC? 

Also, are there any assistants we’d like to see stick around through the regime change? 

 “Leader of men” seems to be the common thread.  Reaction/juxtaposition to the aloof Fangio, IMO.

[Broncofan]

Someone had some fun & Woody Paige took the bait.  
 

 

Rookie mistake by Paige - that’s not Klis.   Paige started reporting this.  Klis cleared it up: 
 

The search will be needed, but isn’t happening this week.   Oh well. 

Edited October 23, 2021 by Broncofan

[AnAngryAmerican]

I don’t know what those above threads are about. So I’ll respond to the OP. 

One, almost literally nothing can be known. Whatever, if any, discussions are being had on the second floor at Dove Valley are entirely unknown. Paton has run a very, very tight ship; the only things that get out to the media are what the team wants out. (If anything got out, I would look to Woody as he has a long-established relationship with Elway). 

The first thing to look at is Paton’s history in Minnesota and Miami as Rick Spielman’s right hand man. They never hired a young hot-shot type. Their coaches have been Dave Wannstedt, Brad Childress, Leslie Frazier and Mike Zimmer. Other than Wannstedt, the others were all first-time HCs but were also established in the league and middle/upper-aged; they’re not unlike Vic in that respect. 

We also know GMs like to hire coaches with whom they have a prior connection, or a connection through a connection, in one way or another. 

Starting with that, if the decision is 100% Paton’s, and we take his history as a guide, I wouldn’t expect a Sean McVay/Zac Taylor/Brandon Staley type hire. 

A retread, who has possibly been a HC before or who has a long history as a coordinator/key position coach, appears likely. Names like Dan Quinn, Leslie Frazier, Todd Bowles and Dennis Allen come to mind (off the top of my head).

I don’t see Paton rolling the dice on a college coach unless he’s one with considerable NFL experience and/or a NFL pedigree; I also don’t see any such candidate, e.g. a Pete Caroll type, available. I also, as I mentioned, don’t see the rookie “hot coordinator” type getting a serious look; through Bienemy and Moore will be hot names, EB especially given his ties to Colorado. 

I think Daboll is going to be a hot name as well but there is so much “Patriot Way” stink on him - he coached in a Belichick or Belichick-inspired system every year from 1998-2018 - that will scare a lot of teams away, ours included after the McFiasco. Also, Daboll has no ties at all to a Paton/Spielman system. 

The elephant in the room is, as we’ve discussed in multiple threads, the ownership situation. If a new owner is decided upon before January, he (she?) could have either a specific candidate or candidate type/pedigree in mind. He or she could be one that defers to Paton 100%, defers but offers advice/input, or makes the decision entirely on his (her?) own.

Thus, all bets are off and given that we have no idea who the new owner would be, and thus what they want. They could offer a college hotshot half a billion to come here, trade for a coach from another team, bring someone out of retirement, hire an early-30s coordinator/position coach, hire a former player or anything else.

As such, I think there are only two names that can 100% be crossed off the list - John Fox and Josh McDaniels. Anyone else (within reason, of course) could be in play with a new owner. 

[jsthomp2007]

AAA, do you think Paton will want to put his own stamp on things versus using the Spielman model?  Nonetheless, the McVay type would be awesome.  But then again you look at the coaches that are going to Super Bowls and multiple Super Bowls are Bruce Arins (potentially) Andy Reid, Belicick, and Carroll.  However, what these goes also have are elite QBs. So, my bet on the next coach is Shanahan, while Paton goes and trades for Aaron Rodgers. 

[big_palooka]

I could see someone like a Mike McCarthy. Established, Superbowl winning coach. He will likely lead Dallas to the playoffs and Jerry isn't going to let Kellen Moore get away. McCarthy becomes expendable.

[bMiller031]

59 minutes ago, big_palooka said:

I could see someone like a Mike McCarthy. Established, Superbowl winning coach. He will likely lead Dallas to the playoffs and Jerry isn't going to let Kellen Moore get away. McCarthy becomes expendable.

I really hope not.  McCarthy is such a jacka**

[AnAngryAmerican]

3 hours ago, jsthomp2007 said:

AAA, do you think Paton will want to put his own stamp on things versus using the Spielman model?  Nonetheless, the McVay type would be awesome.  But then again you look at the coaches that are going to Super Bowls and multiple Super Bowls are Bruce Arins (potentially) Andy Reid, Belicick, and Carroll.  However, what these goes also have are elite QBs. So, my bet on the next coach is Shanahan, while Paton goes and trades for Aaron Rodgers. 

That’s very possible. I expect Paton sets his own course but, traditionally, you follow a similar path as to what you came of age (so to speak) with. Paton worked under Spielman for 15 years, I’d he objected to decisions regularly being made, he wouldn’t have stayed that long. 

My point is that I would expect Paton follow a similar, even if not identical, course to what we’ve seen from the past staff on which he was a key player. 

[jsthomp2007]

35 minutes ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

That’s very possible. I expect Paton sets his own course but, traditionally, you follow a similar path as to what you came of age (so to speak) with. Paton worked under Spielman for 15 years, I’d he objected to decisions regularly being made, he wouldn’t have stayed that long. 

My point is that I would expect Paton follow a similar, even if not identical, course to what we’ve seen from the past staff on which he was a key player. 

He has to change something.  While the Vikings have fielded some solid teams, and some teams that contended for some Super Bowls; the fact is, they never got there. 

I really think the focus really has to be not only ownership, and finding the right coach.  But they need to find a top-notch QB.  I am okay with the trading for Russ or Rogers; but I'd prefer to find the franchise QB in the draft.  I think Desmond Ridder could be that guy.  He has the talent and swag that I think fits in today's NFL. But I really think they need to get that squared away, and quit playing around with the Keenums, Flaccos, Bridgewaters, and Locks of the world.  If Ridder is the guy and the Broncos need to trade into the top 3 to get him, they f****cking do it.  Which might not be such a difficult trade to make since it looks like we are picking top 10 again. 

 

I know Ridder is playing against Navy today, which isn't a good measuring stick, but I'd encourage watching him out there.  He's a stud.  I think he could be a top 5 Qb in the league. 

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

AAA if we take you’re conjecture that Paton is likely to follow a similar path to Spielman to be true (we shall see) then your statement that he will pick someone which whom he has and prior dealings is false. Speilman had no prior direct work experience with any of his coaches except Fraizer who was promoted to interim HC and did so well that it made sense at the time. 

[broncosfan_101]

26 minutes ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

AAA if we take you’re conjecture that Paton is likely to follow a similar path to Spielman to be true (we shall see) then your statement that he will pick someone which whom he has and prior dealings is false. Speilman had no prior direct work experience with any of his coaches except Fraizer who was promoted to interim HC and did so well that it made sense at the time. 

In his hires, Spielman has skewed towards defence and overall experience, and away from personal experience. I wonder if Raheem Morris would be on Paton’s interview list. 

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

6 minutes ago, broncosfan_101 said:

In his hires, Spielman has skewed towards defence and overall experience, and away from personal experience. I wonder if Raheem Morris would be on Paton’s interview list. 

I don’t know. I hope so. Raheem is probably my #3 choice right now behind Mike McDaniel and Nathaniel Hackett. (I want a smart, innovative coach with experience and success in a bunch of different places/situations that they can draw upon)

[broncos67]

I would expect Leslie Frazier, Darrell Bevell, and Dan Quinn to be atop the list. Allbright mentioned them the first time, and I think there's something to those names. If Jason Garrett is the next HC of this team I might just not watch. He's atrocious and there's nothing he brings to the table. This, of course, means he'll probably be the coach because we can't help but hire good ol' boy types.

I'd love something outside the box a little bit. But I don't see the Broncos being that kind of organization.

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

19 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

I'd love something outside the box a little bit. But I don't see the Broncos being that kind of organization.

I don’t agree with this take. We hired Fangio when it went completely against the grain of hiring young hot coordinator types. Vance Joseph was neither a good ol boy nor a conventional hire. Kubiak was definitely a throwback but came at a time when “retread” coaches weren’t getting much of a shot (his success led to others to get their second chance, for good or bad). 
 

the only coach that followed NFL trends of the time, was an inside the box hire, and a good ol boy was John Fox, and as i argued at the time was the right hire for an organization looking for stability. 

[paul-mac]

My money’s on Dan Quinn, which I don’t hate if we get a decent OC in. Looking at head coaches who are on the hot seat this year, I’d go ahead and bring in Matt Nagy at offensive coordinator. He’s a bright young mind who’s managed to somehow find a decent record on a poor team.