Drew Lock Shares First Public Reaction to Broncos Hiring Shurmur & Shula

After the 2019 regular season ended, quarterback Drew Lock took some time away from football to spend with family and even had his wisdom teeth taken out, the last of which we learned courtesy of Peyton Manning. With all that behind him, Lock is in Miami for the Super Bowl, making the rounds, as it were.

Three weeks ago, the Broncos pulled the rug out from Lock somewhat by very suddenly firing offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello and Lock's position coach, T.C. McCartney. Vic Fangio replaced the jettisoned coaches with Pat Shurmur (OC) and Mike Shula (QBs), respectively.

For the first time since that coaching shake-up, Lock spoke publicly, sharing his initial reaction to the news and what it all means for his career heading into his second year.

“You know, I was excited," Lock told Phil Milani of the team site. "I mean, we love T.C. and love Coach Scangs, but when the decision was made to bring in and hire someone new, I was super excited when we hired Coach Shurmur. We had previously met in New York on a top-30 visit—both Pat and Coach Shula—so it’s good to be able to have someone that you’ve had conversations with and kind of know already.”

After the initial shock wore off, when Lock realized he was being teamed up with Shurmur, he couldn't deny his excitement for what the future holds. Shurmur has talked about how high he and the Giants were on Lock during last year's pre-draft process, though New York ultimately drafted Duke's Daniel Jones in the first round instead.

Still, having a base familiarity with his new offensive coordinator is comforting to Lock. Although per NFL rules there are restrictions on how much Lock and Shurmur can communicate at this stage of the offseason, the two did speak the day after Shurmur was hired by the Broncos.

“Yeah, we got on the phone the next day after they hired him," Lock said. "And the same with Coach Shula when they hired him. And then sure enough, I run into [Chiefs QB] Kyle [Shurmur], his son, in Kansas City— just small world circling back.”

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So why is Lock excited for his new coaches? It comes down to the proven track record of both Shurmur and Shula, not only as Xs and Os tacticians but as QB developers. At this early stage of his career, Lock is thrilled that his path has crossed with theirs.

“If you look at the credentials on all the quarterbacks that they’ve coached, those guys have turned out to be extremely, extremely good quarterbacks in this league," Lock said. "I’m excited to be a young guy, to be able to get them at an early stage in my career. They did so well with Daniel [Jones] last year. Daniel played his butt off, so I’m excited to be able to have them now and see where we can take this.”

Lock has spent some time studying the Giants' scheme under Shurmur and Shula from 2019, especially since his friend (Jones) started 12 games. Lock shared his initial impressions of what the future of the Broncos' scheme might hold.

“It’s pretty explosive," Lock said. "They throw the ball down the field. Daniel did himself some running. I’m excited to be able to scoot around a little bit. We’ll see how they morph it to fit our personnel and to fit our style and what they think might be best for our team. But I’m confident that they’re going to put together a good plan and be ready to go for us.”

There's no perfect time to make a coordinator change but for Lock, the timing is fortuitous. Coming off his five-game stretch as a rookie starter, Lock not only proved that he belongs in the NFL but that he has what it takes to hang with the best and brightest quarterbacks the league has to offer.

The day after the season ended, GM John Elway and Coach Fangio anointed Lock as 'the guy' going into 2020. That public showing of support meant a lot to the former Missouri Tiger.

“It makes me feel really good," Lock said.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.

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