Why Jarrett Stidham Gives the Broncos a Chance Against the Patriots

Plus, analyzing the Titans' hiring of Robert Saleh along with the Bills' front office situation in this week's NFL Fact or Fiction.

Broncos quarterbacks Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham take the field against the Packers. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

It’s funny how quickly wild ideas turn into sensible ones with just a little more thought.

That happened to me after reading one of Conor Orr’s insightful coaching cycle columns. Seriously, no one does a better job of covering coaching openings than Orr and I’m not just saying that because he’s my coworker.

But Orr got me thinking after saying he’s not ruling out the possibility of the Bills trading for a coach to replace Sean McDermott. Going the extra mile for landing an established coach isn’t that wild, but it’s surprising that not many teams would even consider trading their coach when their value (or reputation) is high, especially the ones that aren’t a perennial winner.

Imagine what the Browns would have gotten had they traded Kevin Stefanski two years ago or last year? Now he’s the coach of the Falcons and the Browns didn’t gain a pick for firing him.

As for another not-so-wild thought: the Broncos can beat the Patriots with Jarrett Stidham as the starting quarterback.

All right, let’s get to NFL Fact or Fiction.

Jarrett Stidham will keep Broncos competitive vs. Patriots

The Broncos are being overlooked for Sunday’s AFC championship game as 5.5-point home underdogs against the Patriots, which is good value from a betting standpoint if you ask me.

There’s too much focus on Bo Nix not being available due to injury and not enough attention on the advantages that could come from having a stout defense and getting to call Mile High Stadium home.

Those two reasons are why I’m confident the Broncos will hang with the Patriots, but Stidham is also no slouch. He’s one of the better backups in the league and he could certainly do better than what New England saw from Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud last week.

Denver will lose Nix’s ability to extend plays with his legs and his confident downfield throws, but Stidham is also not afraid to push the ball, evident from his memorable Week 17 shootout in 2022, when Stidham helped the Raiders push the playoff-bound 49ers into overtime. Stidham completed 23 of 34 passes for 365 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and averaged 10.7 yards per attempt.

Broncos coach Sean Payton took notice of Stidham’s performance and signed him to be Russell Wilson’s backup in 2023, perhaps with the intention to push him for the job. Stidham did start two games for Denver that year once Payton got tired of Wilson, though Stidham wasn’t as impressive as his memorable start with Las Vegas. But Stidham has three years of experience working with Payton and it would go a long way if he plays efficiently and protects the ball on Sunday against the Patriots, who drafted Stidham in ’19.

Let’s not be so quick to punch the Patriots’ ticket to Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX.

Manzano’s view: Fact 

Titans hiring Robert Saleh is a correction for firing Mike Vrabel 

After the news broke of Saleh being hired in Tennessee, I immediately thought this was the team’s way of attempting to correct the mistake of firing Mike Vrabel two years ago.

The similarities are there between Saleh and Vrabel as defensive-minded coaches with plenty of energy who have found the right balance for how to push players. Additionally, the Titans are going the opposite route of hiring an up-and-coming offensive coach, which backfired with Brian Callahan, Vrabel’s successor in Tennessee.

But the more I think about it, the more I understand why the Titans decided to go with Saleh over the other candidates, including Matt Nagy, who seemed to be the frontrunner for this opening. Saleh checks many boxes because he has a proven track record of building quality defenses—the Jets’ defense has not been the same since he left in the middle of the 2024 season—and has extensive contacts to produce an intriguing offensive staff due to his connection with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. Hiring Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator or another innovative coach could do wonders for Cam Ward’s development after a rocky rookie season.

I am concerned, however, about Saleh failing to develop 2021 No. 2 pick Zach Wilson during their time together in New York. But we also know about the poor surroundings with the Jets and it didn’t help that Wilson was quickly thrown into the fire as the starter. And it says plenty that Wilson was a third-stringer in Denver last year, behind Nix and Stidham, and couldn’t hold onto the backup job with Miami this season. Saleh wasn’t the only coach who couldn’t maximize Wilson’s potential.

Saleh and Mike LaFleur, the former Jets’ OC, actually did plenty of good with Wilson before the front office pulled the plug and went all in on Aaron Rodgers in 2023. From there, Saleh didn’t have much say in many aspects, including how to build his coaching staff. Perhaps LaFleur is an option to be Ward’s OC in Nashville after two prolific seasons as Matthew Stafford’s OC with the Rams.

It’s not a bad thing that Saleh has many of the same qualities as Vrabel, but there’s a lot more to this hiring than attempting to right a wrong from a few years back.

Manzano’s view: Fiction 

Bills made a mistake retaining GM Brandon Beane

Beane remained as Buffalo's general manager even as the team parted ways with McDermott. | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

I’m having a hard time understanding why Brandon Beane wasn’t fired in Buffalo along with McDermott.

McDermott didn’t do enough to get Josh Allen to the Super Bowl, but the same can be said for Beane, who’s been around just as long as McDermott. McDermott was hired in January 2017 and Beane joined in May of that year, a few weeks after the NFL draft.

So, if Beane doesn’t get credit for the 2017 draft selections of Tre’Davious White, Dion Dawkins and Matt Milano, that makes his lack of draft success a lot more concerning. And Allen didn’t have much help this season, playing with a roster that has gotten worse since Stefon Diggs was traded ahead of the ’24 season.

Maybe Bills ownership decided to keep Beane because he drafted Allen in 2018, but McDermott deserves the bulk of the credit for helping Allen develop into an elite quarterback and an MVP.

Perhaps retaining Beane means that they’re aiming to hire Brian Daboll, Allen’s former offensive coordinator in Buffalo before becoming the head coach of the Giants in 2022. But having familiar decision makers after firing McDermott because of complacency concerns just doesn't make much sense.

Manzano’s view: Fact

More teams should be willing to trade their coaches 

Again, Orr got me thinking when he didn’t rule out the possibility of the Bills executing a trade for a head coach, such as Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and a few other intriguing coaches.

Let me emphasize that Orr is not reporting that. It was just an idea for a team that has plenty of urgency to help Allen win a Super Bowl as soon as possible.

But going off that thought, I’m surprised that more teams don’t consider the option of trading away promising coaches. It’s somewhat similar to when teams trade players in the midst of their primes knowing that they’re not close to competing in the immediate future. Obviously, it’s a little different because coaches don’t take hits and don’t break down as quickly, at least not physically.

However, coaches do get fired quickly even after success. For example, Daboll was the Coach of the Year for helping the Daniel Jones–led Giants make the playoffs in 2022. Daboll likely would have netted a high draft pick if the team decided to shop him around after the 2023 season, but a few more losing seasons occurred that quickly diminished Daboll’s value and he was out of a job in November.

The Vikings could trade O’Connell, who hasn’t won a playoff game in four seasons in Minnesota, for a first-round pick and promote defensive coordinator Brian Flores to head coach. This scenario really doesn’t sound that far-fetched to me from a Vikings’ standpoint.

Manzano’s view: Fact