Denver Broncos owner Greg Penner may have made a miscalculation when he met with Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh for a second time.

According to Mike Sando of The Athletic, Penner's trip to Ann Arbor surprised other candidates for the Broncos' head coaching vacancy:

"Word of Penner's recent trip to Ann Arbor for a second meeting with Harbaugh was circulating through league circles Wednesday, catching other candidates off-guard, according to league sources. If Penner was secretly doubling back to meet with Harbaugh before getting back to other candidates, under the impression his meeting with Harbaugh might remain private, this could be a case of an owner new to the league not fully understanding the consequences of operating in that manner."

According to that report, Harbaugh, Sean Payton and Dan Quinn were considered the big-name targets for the team in its coaching search, though all three "appear beyond the Broncos' reach."

Quinn is returning as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, while by all accounts Harbaugh plans to stay at Michigan:

Payton's future is less clear, but the fact that the New Orleans Saints can demand draft capital in exchange for allowing him to be hired elsewhere makes him an expensive option.

To date, the Broncos have interviewed Harbaugh, Payton, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, former Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, former Stanford head coach David Shaw and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris for the vacancy.

DeMeco Ryans was thought to be one of Denver's top candidates, but it appears he favors the Houston Texans' opening.

So there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Denver job, and the second interview with Harbaugh only compounded it.

Since the Broncos won the Super Bowl in the 2015 season under head coach Gary Kubiak, five different head coaches have led the Broncos: Kubiak (his final season came in 2016), Vance Joseph (2017-18), Vic Fangio (2019-21), Nathaniel Hackett (2022) and Jerry Rosburg (interim in 2022).

The Broncos have cycled through even more quarterbacks than that in the post-Peyton Manning era and haven't had a winning season since 2016. And last year's major splash—trading for quarterback Russell Wilson in a blockbuster move—was instead a box-office flop in year one.

So the Denver job is a major reclamation project and one without a clear front-runner to lead it from the head coaching position.