Here's Where Broncos' New Owners Went Wrong in Bungled HC Search
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The Denver Broncos are getting blasted in the media and by fans for how they have handled their search for a new head coach. Honestly, the Broncos deserve the criticism.
Even if Lady Luck or exorbitant sums of money ends up saving the day, it's apparent that the group running the head-coach hiring process is very green in the ways of the NFL. It appears the ownership group has bungled this thing from the start.
It begins with including Stanford head coach David Shaw in the process in the first place and has, so far, ended in desperation with Denver's vain attempt to rekindle things with Jim Harbaugh after he already bowed out. The Broncos owners leaning past business experience isn’t working in the NFL, and they need to change their ways quickly.
The Broncos went into the process with the wrong mindset, wanting the big swing, and, in their misguided confidence, they forgot to begin the process on the right foot. The big swings always come with risks. The 'Tier 1' candidates have options, are difficult to land, and can be unpredictable.
Once the Broncos swung and missed on the big fish, the ownership group was left with an extremely small list of viable candidates. Here's why: The Broncos included Shaw because of his past relationship with the owners when he was a candidate that few believed had the competency to run an NFL football team.
Denver also had interviewees that now appear to be interviewed only out of courtesy (Ejiro Evero). Once that initial list got long, the Broncos decided to leave off other deserving candidates. However, that long list is actually short once the big swings, the relationship candidate, and the courtesy interviews are removed.
The Walton/Penner group was left basically with DeMeco Ryans, Dan Quinn, Jim Caldwell, and Raheem Morris. When Quinn could not convince them that the questions from his time in Atlanta had been resolved, he pulled his name out of the hat.
What remained was a very small group of candidates. Then buzz of Denver having “mystery candidates” began, which appears to be an attempt by the ownership group to redirect the criticism. It's likely a farce, making this entire process only look much worse and providing more evidence that the Broncos' new owners know they have messed up from the start.
If the Walton/Penner ownership group had approached the process with the right mindset, they wouldn't have included the non-candidates, realized the big swings were going to be a long shot to land, and already would have scheduled initial interviews with other viable candidates such as Cincinnati OC Brian Callahan, Philadelphia coordinators Shane Steichen (OC) and Jonathan Gannon (DC), and Giants OC Mike Kafka.
Instead, the Broncos are in a bidding war with the Houston Texans for their only remaining candidate: Ryans. Now, Denver is seemingly stuck playing the waiting game as the NFL playoffs march on to the Super Bowl.
What once looked like a group of great minds in ownership has quickly turned into a group of novices who don’t realize that they're green behind the ears when it comes to the way the NFL works.
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