New Report Lays Out 'Plan A' for Broncos: Hire Dan Quinn & Luke Getsy, Acquire Aaron Rodgers
Whether he pulls it off remains to be seen, but Denver Broncos general manager George Paton apparently is preparing quite the coup at head coach and quarterback.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer revealed in a Jan. 20 mailbag that "Plan A" for the Broncos this offseason consists of hiring Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as the team's next HC and Packers QBs coach Luke Getsy as its new offensive coordinator, and using Getsy's pull to lure Green Bay superstar Aaron Rodgers to the Mile High City.
"Is it far-fetched? Maybe it is. I picked the Packers to win the Super Bowl, and I think if that happens the likelihood is that Rodgers would stay put in Green Bay," Breer wrote. "But I also think it’s pretty easy to look at where the Broncos are, and we’ve been over this before, and see where they’d be able to offer Rodgers a lot of what they were able to offer to Peyton Manning all the way back in 2012."
Breer, too, furthered a popular theory that Getsy's interview for Denver's top coaching vacancy — which was held on Jan. 15 — really could have been an audition to become Pat Shurmur's successor.
"The other thing that I think has been interesting about Denver’s approach to the interview process is that you’re seeing some newer names. Getsy’s is one. ... This certainly could be like Tennessee in 2018, when the Titans interviewed Matt LaFleur for their head-coaching job, with the idea that if he didn’t win the job, he might leave the Rams for the opportunity to call plays. Which is what he wound up doing, taking the O.C. job after Tennessee picked Mike Vrabel as head coach," Breer wrote.
Though indeed a bit of a stretch, this is not the first NFL insider to suggest the Broncos will attempt to poach the future Hall-of-Fame field general and his right-hand coach.
Earlier this month, Pro Football Network's Adam Beasley reported that Denver had "real interest" in tapping Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett as the 18th head man in franchise history. Hackett, who interviewed on the same day as Getty, likely would bring along the latter in a package deal, swaying Rodgers' potential acquisition.
"We believe the Broncos also would absolutely love to lure Aaron Rodgers out of the Frozen Tundra and into Mile High," Beasley wrote.
"And while we don’t know this for certain, it makes a ton of sense that part of the plan to get Rodgers in Denver is by hiring people who would make him more open to going there. And that could mean Hackett as head coach and Getsy as offensive coordinator."
As for Quinn, who met with Broncos brass on Tuesday, he remains the favorite to land the head-coaching position, if offered. Quinn is also garnering heavy appeal from several teams, including the New York Giants — and rumors have indicated the New Jersey native prefers a homecoming.
Quinn is among a 10-candidate pool compiled by Paton that includes Hackett, Getsy, Cowboys OC Kellen Moore, Rams OC Kevin O'Connell, Bengals OC Brian Callahan, Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon, Lions DC Aaron Glenn, and Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo.
Bieniemy was the final prospect to interview with the Broncos' hiring committee; their face-to-face took place Friday in Kansas City.
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