The Next Denver Broncos Head Coach Should Be ……..
By Joe Morrone
Jan 30, 2014; Jersey City, NJ, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn at a press conference at The Westin in advance of Super Bowl XLVIII. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Broncos are in search of a new head coach after “parting ways” with John Fox on Monday. As usual, there are many names floating out there as a potential replacement and even more rumors.
Let’s squash at least one of those rumors right now, Mike Shanahan is not coming back to coach the Broncos. The relationship between John Elway and Shanahan is better than it was but not nearly good enough for them to work together, especially when Elway would have the control.
It’s early and more names are sure to surface but as of today, the three hot names are Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase, former Broncos quarterback and Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak and the guy I believe should be the next head coach of the Broncos.
Dan Quinn is currently the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks and is the hottest candidate on the market. Quinn fits the Broncos for many reasons but his expertise on the defensive side of the ball is at the top of the list.
The Broncos have the talent to be one of the top two or three defenses in the NFL with the right leadership. It’s true the Broncos were statically a top three defense in 2014 but that number is misleading. They gave up too many points in big games and there was a severe lack of impact plays.
The Broncos have two of the top pass rushers in football in DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller, and they got zero pressure on Andrew Luck in Sunday’s loss to the Colts. Some of that ineffectiveness falls on those two but Jack Del Rio also failed to put them in advantageous positions.
The Seahawks secondary gets a lot of the attention and rightfully so but it’s their front seven that makes that defense tick. Quinn would do wonders with the talent that the Broncos have, both up front and in the secondary. In addition to Ware and Miller, the Broncos will get Danny Trevathan and Nate Irving back at the linebacker spot which will make that position one of the fastest in football.
The signing of safety TJ Ward was supposed to be a major addition to the Broncos defense and while he played well, Del Rio had no clue how to use him. Ward is not your typical safety, he’s not going to cover guys and lead the league in interceptions. However he is one of the best blitzing safeties in football, and is extremely disruptive at the line of scrimmage.
Del Rio constantly had Ward in coverage and refused to take advantage of his real skills. Quinn would look at Ward and immediately draw up a dozen blitz packages that would not only benefit Ward, but they would also free up players like Ware and Miller.
In short, the Broncos have the talent on defense to be the dominant unit and lead them to wins even if Peyton Manning retires. Quinn is the guy who can transform the Broncos from a good defense to a great one.
In addition to his expertise on defense, Quinn would bring a physical presence to the Broncos. He would demand balance on offense that would include a physical running game. The Broncos have been a finesse team with Manning and those teams don’t win championships. Physical teams win titles as proven again by Ohio State’s dominant win in the National Championship Game over Oregon on Monday night.
As of today, I believe Manning is going to hang it up. Keep in mind, I go back and forth on that but it feels like he’s done. However even if that’s the case, the Broncos have enough talent to remain competitive but in order to do that they need to change their identity.
That identity has to be one based on a dominant defense and a physical running game. Quinn is the guy who can get that done and he should be the next head coach of the Broncos.