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The Broncos have a weighty coaching search week on tap.
Denver is slated to meet with four candidates this week after interviewing four others last week. Whether CEO Greg Penner fast-tracks the search in the coming days or he wants to do more interviews next week should be known by week’s end.
In the meantime, let’s make the case for and against each of the Broncos’ eight known candidates, beginning with the four who are up this week.
Former New Orleans coach Sean Payton
Case for: Super Bowl title? Check. Worked with a Hall of Fame quarterback in the second half of his career (Drew Brees)? Check. Payton’s return in 2023 would put him sixth among active NFL coaches in career wins (153) behind Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, Pete Carroll and Mike McCarthy. If it’s a big name and big resume you want, you won’t do better than Payton. Payton interviews Tuesday.
Case against: Acquisition cost is one part of the equation, especially if a bidding war erupts between teams with more draft capital than the Broncos. There’s also the matter of Payton’s status as the first head coach to be suspended for a full season due to the 2011 Bountygate scandal (New Orleans was third in scoring in 2012 without him) and a more modest three playoff wins in his final eight seasons before he left the Saints when Brees retired.
L.A. Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris
Case for: Morris has head coaching experience (Tampa Bay, 2009-11, and Atlanta interim 2020), is widely regarded for his leadership and would bring a level of continuity since his defensive system with the Rams is similar to the one Denver ran in 2022. Listen to Rams players talk about Morris and it’s easy to see why the 46-year-old is seen as overdue for his next chance at running a team. Morris interviews Tuesday.
Case against: If the Broncos want experience there are candidates with more. If they want a resume of working with quarterbacks, they have options there, too. There’s not much of a case against Morris, it’s more that Denver’s search committee may decide someone else more completely fits the bill.
San Francisco defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans
Case for: Ryans represents the enticing idea that you might catch a star just as he’s beginning to emerge. It’s difficult to find anybody who doesn’t rave about the work the former Houston linebacker has done in San Francisco. It’s difficult to find anybody that thinks he won’t continue to have success once he’s got his own franchise. What’s not to love? Ryans, 38, could be the next big thing as an NFL coach. Ryans is slated to interview later in the week.
Case against: Pretty easy here: The Broncos have had three straight first-time coaching failures. That’s not Ryans’ fault, but it probably works against him. Also, if Denver were interested in hiring a first-time head coach who oversees a stout defense and whose players and fellow coaches rave about him, they could hire Ejiro Evero, whom they’ve seen up close and personal every day for the past year.
Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn
Case for: Denver passed on Quinn a year ago and could make amends now, bringing in a steady hand and big personality who has a track record of success on defense and is also familiar with Russell Wilson from their days in Seattle together. He knows what Wilson needs, the offense gets on track and voila, back to contender status for the Broncos. Quinn is slated to interview Friday.
Case against: Well, the Broncos passed on him a year ago. Penner’s running the search now, so that changes the equation some. Quinn’s time in Atlanta was a mixed bag: 29-19 his first three years with a Super Bowl loss to New England, then 14-23 before he was fired five games into 2020.
Interviewed last week
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh
Case for: Simply put, Harbaugh’s won everywhere he’s been. San Diego, Stanford, the 49ers, and Michigan. He took a San Francisco franchise in the midst of a long playoff drought (sound familiar?) and put it in the NFC title game each of his first three years on the job. Evero said of Harbaugh, “he’s going to impress change on people.” That sounds like just the doctor’s order for a Broncos locker room where nobody’s experienced sustained winning.
Case against: All of that change-impressing also has left Harbaugh with a reputation for wearing people out. Does Harbaugh, 59, want to do this for 10 years? Or is this more of a chance to take one more crack at a quick turnaround and a Super Bowl run? Broncos fans would take that, but what does the picture look like if it doesn’t happen right away?
Denver defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero
Case for: The Broncos decision-makers already know him. He already knows the core group of players who will return in 2023. Players, coaches and analysts alike rave about his leadership, schematic knowledge, and ability to teach. If Denver’s open to going first-timer again, Evero’s the one they know by far the most about.
Case against: Essentially, that he’d be a first-timer. One year of defensive coordinating experience typically doesn’t land you a head coaching job. What his staff would look like is something of an unknown but will be key as he navigates several head coaching interviews this round. The coaching bona fides are there, it’s just a matter of if a team decides Evero’s ready.
Former Indianapolis/Detroit head coach Jim Caldwell
Case for: A steady hand and a long history of success working with quarterbacks for Caldwell, who turned 68 on Monday. He put together three winning seasons in four years in Detroit and overall has a 62-50 mark as a head coach.
Case against: Caldwell’s been out of coaching since before the 2019 season, when he left Miami’s staff due to health reasons and he’d slot in as the third-oldest head coach in the NFL this year behind Carroll and Belichick. Harbaugh and Payton have similarly deep offensive resumes, but if they come off the board for whatever reason, Caldwell’s candidacy gets interesting in a hurry.
Former Stanford head coach David Shaw
Case for: Shaw built Stanford into a consistent winner in the Pac-12 over his 16 years at the school (12 as head coach) and has experience at the assistant coaching level in the NFL, too. At 50, he’s still got a lot of coaching ahead of him and the NFL could well be a better fit for him than the college game going forward.
Case against: In Shaw’s last four years, Stanford went 14-28 and he resigned after back-to-back 3-9 seasons. That’s not the normal path to landing an NFL head coaching job. Stanford brings recruiting challenges and the NFL is an entirely different animal, but Shaw’s offense has finished No. 109 or worse nationally three of the past four years. What would his plan in the pros be?
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