Having fired Nathaniel Hackett before the rookie head coach could finish his first year at the helm, the Broncos are finishing out their deeply disappointing 2022 campaign with Jerry Rosburg as interim HC. Unsurprisingly, it does not appear that Rosburg — who was pulled out of retirement earlier this year to assist Hackett with gameday management — is a candidate for the permanent head coaching gig.
Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes that the Broncos’ new Penner-Walton ownership group, which paid $4.65 billion to purchase the club last offseason, is prepared to do “whatever it takes” to land the head coach it wants and plans to be “ultra aggressive” in its pursuit. Of course, that presumably means that the cash-flush group will pony up a significant salary to entice a top-flight candidate, and in light of recent reports that Denver’s next head coach will report directly to ownership rather than GM George Paton, it appears the new sideline general could have considerable personnel power as well.
Schefter does not specify what candidates the club is targeting. Former Saints HC Sean Payton may be the most sought-after HC on the market, and if the Broncos are truly prepared to be “ultra aggressive,” they will not be deterred by the fact that they will need to complete a trade with New Orleans to acquire Payton’s rights and then give Payton a market-topping contract. However, Payton is reportedly uninterested in the Denver job.
Indeed, the team’s quarterback situation could deter other top candidates from considering the Broncos’ post. 2022 trade acquisition Russell Wilson, who was supposed to lead the team on a championship run, is one of this year’s worst quarterbacks, and Denver cannot escape his contract anytime soon. We previously heard that, in addition to Payton, names like Frank Reich, Jim Harbaugh, and Dan Quinn could also be on Denver’s shortlist, but an in-demand coach may not want to hitch his wagon to the Broncos right now (depending, perhaps, on just how generous ownership is willing to be in contract talks).
Speaking of Wilson, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that the 34-year-old passer is prepared to overhaul his entire offseason and in-season routine in an effort to get back to his previous level of performance. The faith that the Broncos’ potential interviewees have in Wilson’s ability to do that will likely dictate the success of the team’s upcoming HC search.
This isn’t complicated.
Philly OC Shane Steichen – helped turn hurts and Herbert into elite qbs
Detroit OC Ben Johnson – revitalized Goffs career
Bring in someone familiar with Wilson from his Seattle offense days
If they’re going to be super-aggressive, they’re not going to look for a first-time head coach. It’ll be someone who a track record, is a big name, and will require a lot of money/compensation.
1) Payton
2) Harbaugh
3) Belicheck
Not a single one of those coaches will be interested in that trash franchise and Sean Payton already said he’s not interested lmao
Why wouldn’t they be? They’d be walking into an organization with the wealthiest ownership group in sports. Money talks. Even if Payton said he’s “not interested,” if the money is significant, he’ll sign.
Belichick? Are you serious?
There are grumblings in Boston about him moving on. Could happen, and the Broncos aren’t a terrible possibility. They’ve got a franchise QB (even if he’s had a bad year), and could pay a ton.
This is unrelated to this post but Vic Fangio got me thinking- how much dead money are NFL teams paying in total to coaches who’ve been fired? It’s gotta be $100 mill plus?
There was an article written a couple weeks ago stating that NFL teams are paying $800M in dead money to fired coaches and executives. The NY Giants alone we’re paying for three head coaches.
It’s been written that Payton and Vic Fangio would like to team up. On paper that could be a great combo for Denver. They have a talented QB who didn’t just suddenly lose all his skills, but most definitely needs a reset. And they have some strong pieces on defense that Fangio could build on. Whether he would go back there is another story… It’s not gonna happen, but I wish the Bears could get those two.
The broncos already had fangio and they fired him. Highly doubt the would come back to Denver. Sorry broncos fans. Payton and fangio won’t be coming to Denver
That’s what he said.
Idk why but i could really see harbaugh coming to denver…
Offer the Steelers a few years draft picks for Tomlin.
The writer says they plan to be aggressive, not stupid.
$$$, forget the picks idea. buy out his contract and then some. Tomlin for the win!
Ultra aggressive searches are a clear sign of desperation. The last one I made was for an exit from a Bed Bath & Beyond store my wife had tricked me into entering on a shopping trip.
Just don’t get stuck in the Beyond section. Spooky.