Broncos' Ownership Will do 'Whatever it Takes to Land HC it Wants'
The Denver Broncos are back in the familiar posture of beginning a searching sweep for another head coach. What's different about the Broncos' situation this time around, however, is their resources to pursue a top-shelf head-coaching candidate.
The Walton/Penner ownership group invested a whopping $4.65 billion to purchase the Broncos earlier this year, and the likes of Rob Walton and Greg Penner know as well as anyone that it takes money to make money.
According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, sources close to the Broncos say the Walton/Penner group plans to be "ultra aggressive" and "do whatever it takes to land the head-coaching candidate it wants."
There is no salary cap on what owners can spend on a head coach or his staff, and the Walton-Penner group that purchased the Broncos last summer is not expected to spare any expense to upgrade the franchise.
If this is what's being leaked to Schefter, it hints that the Broncos are gearing up to make a run at one of the top-two candidates in this year's head-coach hiring cycle: University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and former New Orleans Saints top man Sean Payton.
We'll get to Harbaugh, but as much as fans might pine for Payton, there's a significant fly in the ointment. The Broncos would not only have to roll out a massive compensation package for Payton, but the team would also have to meet whatever demands the Saints have in relinquishing his rights.
Schefter opined on the historical precedent for NFL teams trading head coaches.
The Raiders received two first-round picks, two second-round picks and $8 million from the Buccaneers in exchange for Jon Gruden. The Jets received a first-round pick, a fourth-round pick and a seventh-round pick from the Patriots in exchange for Bill Belichick, along with fifth-round and seventh-round picks.
The Patriots also received first-, second-, third- and fourth-round picks, as well as $300,000 donated to charity, from the Jets in exchange for Bill Parcells.
If New Orleans' ask is even remotely on that type of level, the odds of Payton landing in Denver are exceedingly slim. However, Harbaugh would be a different story.
He's making very good money as Michigan's head coach and would have to really want to abandon ship to return to the NFL ranks. But if the Walton/Penners made Harbaugh an offer he couldn't refuse, the Broncos could conceivably lure him.
Does Harbaugh have the wherewithal to turn the ship around in Denver and fix Russell Wilson? I'd like the odds, considering what Harbaugh did to resurrect Alex Smith in San Francisco more than a decade ago.
Stay tuned.
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