NFL.com Gives Broncos' HC Vacancy Curious Ranking

After a disappointing season, the Denver Broncos are once again hunting for the next head coach to lead them out of obscurity. This year, in particular, is ripe with promising coaching prospects, and the Walter-Penner ownership group is stuffed to the gills with money and aspirations to land the big fish.

A wide net is being cast, and the Broncos have requested to interview six candidates thus far, the most prominent names being Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh. While there is much excitement from Broncos Country, one has to wonder just how attractive Denver’s head coaching vacancy is now.

NFL.com's Judy Battista ranked Denver as the fourth most “enticing” head coach opening, with the Colts, Cardinals, and Panthers just above them. What factors contributed to the Broncos’ ranking? Let's dive into her assessment.

“This job is not the most attractive because the Broncos exist in the same division as Patrick Mahomes. But this will be a fascinating search nonetheless. Start with the fact that Denver’s expected to interview Payton and Harbaugh. And then layer on the obvious: Whoever gets this job has to fix quarterback Russell Wilson, whose shocking decline led to Hackett’s early exit after less than one entire season and intrateam friction on the sideline. Wilson's contract makes it prohibitive to move on from him for at least one season, so it seems nearly inevitable the Broncos will pursue a coach from the offensive side of the ball or one who would bring a solid offensive coordinator. (Basically, one who tells the Broncos what they want to hear: that Wilson can play at a high level once again.) Beyond Wilson, this roster has enough young talent that, when the quarterback was acquired last March, the assumption was Denver would challenge Kansas City for AFC West supremacy.

The Broncos got back some of the draft capital they sent to Seattle for Wilson when they traded Bradley Chubb to Miami, but they are still operating at a draft-pick deficit. NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reports that first-year defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero will interview for the job after leading the NFL’s seventh-ranked Defense. Still, if he doesn’t get the head gig, it would be a coup for a new head coach to convince him to stay. And finally, this is the first hire to be made by the new ownership group. Co-owner/CEO Greg Penner is in charge, and he has already said a new coach will report directly to him, not general manager George Paton. Not incidentally, it is hard to imagine the Walmart fortune will be outbid.”

What happens next for the Broncos? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second and sign up for our free newsletter and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

No doubt, coaching in the same division that Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have run since 2016 would cause concern for some candidates, but if they want to coach in the NFL, they’ll have to be ultra-competitive and tenacious no matter who lines up across from them. If facing Mahomes and company scares them away from the job, they weren’t the guy anyway.

The most significant factor impacting this head coach search lies with Wilson and whether he can be “fixed.” Under former head coach Nathaniel Hackett, Wilson and the offense were stranded in open water looking for a life preserver.

The Broncos finished as the worst-scoring offense in 2022 with an abysmal 16.9 points per game. While Wilson deserves his share of the blame, in his last two games under interim head coach Jerry Rosburg, he looked much like the quarterback we’d come to know over the past decade scoring three times in each.

Competent coaching was enough to elevate Wilson, and his performance in the last two games could boost a potential candidate’s willingness to coach him. If they don’t feel Wilson is in their long-term plans, they can cut bait after next season and start fresh. It wouldn’t be shocking if this were a part of the ownership pitch.

While the Broncos are at a deficit concerning draft capital, they have some talented players on the roster that could be appealing. Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, and Greg Dulcich are a solid core of receivers. Patrick Surtain II, Justin Simmons, and Baron Browning are building blocks for the future.

The first-round pick acquired in the Chubb trade will likely be in the late twenties or even thirties. Knowing GM George Paton, I could be flipped to another team for extra draft capital in later rounds. Some expendable players on the roster can be exchanged for compensation, like Albert Okwuegbunam or Mike Purcell.

Broncos CEO Greg Penner will certainly not be outbid by any other team in the NFL. If the ownership group is as dead set as they claim to be, money won’t hold them back from casting its line into the sea of candidates.

After buying the Broncos, it is their turn to play salesman to whomever they see most fit to take control of the Orange and Blue and catch the big one.

Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.

Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!

Get your Broncos tickets from SI Tickets HERE!