It's official: Mike Nolan named DC for Broncos.

by boydy2669 on Jan 12, 2009 9:18 AM MST

I, for one, am over the moon about this hiring!

National Football Post is reporting that the Broncos have officially named MIKE NOLAN as DC and will focus on building a 3-4 system.

This is new times for the Broncos, and if we can keep Dennison and Turner we will have one of the best staffs out there.

(Note: Rick Dennison is interviewing in San Francisco for the OC job there).

Go to this link for the story:

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/01/sources-nolan-heading-to-denver/

I am excited by the new era in Denver and feel we are already turning a corner.

Make Dennison OC and we are all good.

Thoughts?

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I am a happy camper!!!

Great first hire by Josh McDaniels!
Nolan will be a GREAT DC for us and we are now cooking.
It gets back to this: we need a great staff, not just a HOF coach like Shanny that surrounded himself with coaches that were yes men or friends.
Can anyone out there really tell me they are not excited by the hires of McDaniels and Mike Nolan. If we can keep Dennison we are all set.
This is a HUGE step forward for our coaching staff and our team!

Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

by boydy2669 on Jan 12, 2009 9:26 AM MST reply actions

and more importantly

we have two guys with something to prove. McD will want to show he’s not simply a product of Bellicheat and that he, too, as a few tricks up his sleeve. And Nolan, would just got axed in SF, will want to redeem his good name by resurrecting our pathetic D. Man, I just Patrick Willis was part of the Nolan deal!

I wish Woody Paige was our coach!

by bcfunk on Jan 12, 2009 9:39 AM MST up reply actions

I'm pumped boydy...

this offseason is going to be unreal. With all the draft picks, we have a huge opportunity to build a 3-4. Now the biggest question becomes, who will be our NT? I’m not an x’s and o’s guy, but I’m learning more and more from all of the excellent content on this site, and I’ve heard many times the NT is the most important guy in the 3-4. I’ve also heard rumblings about the lack of a true NT in FA.

My question is, do we attempt to trade for a guy like Jenkins, Wilfork, Rodgers? If the Jets hire Spagnolo, blow it up, and go 4-3 do you think Jenkins would be available for some second day picks? Maybe coach Mac can woo Wilfork (or maybe someone can sweet talk his wife, because she runs shit)?

Or, do we draft a NT at 12? Man, drafting the most important player on the defense, whom you need to contribute and dominate from day one to have any success in 2009, seems very risky. If we draft Cody or Raji and they bust, it would be a complete disaster. The scary thing is, d-linemen bust all the time.

I’m sure there will be lots of quality discussion in the coming months on here, I can’t wait!

"Choose the sword, and you will join me. Choose the ball and you join your mother, in death. You don’t understand my words, but you must choose. So… come boy, choose life or death."

by ButteBronco on Jan 12, 2009 10:08 AM MST up reply actions

Hey Butte and Cal...

I am checking all the draft boards now for best NT available.
I am not sure if there are ANY viable NT types in FA but I sure as hell intend to research it.
Terrell Suggs makes a VERY interesting option for us in FA as we will more than likely take the best NT available in the draft. If we can hit like we did with Clady then we will be good.
3-4 would let us play WW and DJ, as well as Larsen and then a Suggs type.
If we pick up a Wilfork in FA, then we make a play for a Cushing type.
Option 3: we pick up Suggs and Wilfork and then get Taylor Mays.
As you said Butte, NT is the key!

Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

by boydy2669 on Jan 12, 2009 10:20 AM MST up reply actions

would be very funny if the jets went 4-3

and we trade D-Rob back to them to get Jenkins.

Terrence Cody is a stud and I think he’s a natural NT. Just sure if he is coming out or if he wants another shot at Tebow.

by MattR on Jan 12, 2009 10:22 AM MST up reply actions

I thought Cody announced he was returning to school next year.?

"(Royal) caught 9 balls for 146 yards and had DeAngelo Hall wishing he was inside with Michael Vick" - MJD Yahoo Sports Blog

by donbok1 on Jan 12, 2009 11:43 AM MST up reply actions

He did Bok...which leaves BJ Raji as an option.

Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

by boydy2669 on Jan 12, 2009 11:45 AM MST up reply actions

better now than before

I’m not down on Raji but I’m not up on him either. He’s jumped a number of spots just because of Nolan’s prospective hiring. There are some others, too. It’s probably easier to find NT types in this draft than DTs. And the good news is that the number of DLs goes down, assuming we’re going 3-4. It may make more sense to start looking for all the other pieces, because NT candidates are pretty easy to identify.

The crop of DE/OLB hybrids needs to be looked at for rush LBs. The DT crop needs to be looked at for DEs, a slightly different task than before, when we something else in mind for them.

by Colinski on Jan 12, 2009 3:49 PM MST up reply actions

Thats why I think Brian Cushing will be a great fit for us.

Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

by boydy2669 on Jan 12, 2009 4:08 PM MST up reply actions

Terrence Taylor, MI

A true NT and tremendous athlete. Plus we could get him in the second maybe even the third round.

"If you don't know where your going you might find yourself somplace else."

by BroncoJoe87 on Jan 12, 2009 4:22 PM MST up reply actions

or even the 4th, he's fallen a long ways since the start of the season

by Colinski on Jan 12, 2009 9:23 PM MST up reply actions

Nolan is an awesome defensive mind

I live in bay area and he drafted two great linebackers in willis and lawson

by robbo650 on Jan 12, 2009 5:01 PM MST up reply actions

those of us from his time here like him

He was from an era when we didn’t have questions about the defensive coaching. He left here to become an DC elsewhere, but many would have liked to see him stay and advance to the DC here (Wade P. was brought in). He dates back to a time when legends such as Joe Collier and Stan Jones were coaching here.

by Colinski on Jan 12, 2009 9:38 PM MST up reply actions

I am also excited about this.

Someone had written on this site earlier that Tomlin and Sparano and Harbaugh, who were all first year HC’s surrounded themselves, or kept on the staff, veteran coaches to help them with the running of the team. It seems that this is the same way McDaniels is going, which just lends credence to all the reports about his intelligence.

I don’t know why, but I prefer Nolan over Capers, so I’m very happy.

by CalgaryFan on Jan 12, 2009 10:13 AM MST reply actions

I'm with you, CalgaryFan

For some reason, Nolan just feels like a better hire than Capers.

by pedalpusher on Jan 12, 2009 10:29 AM MST up reply actions

agreed

I Promise You One Thing. A Lot Of Good Will Come Outta From This.
You Will Never See Anyone Type On The Message Boards As Much As I Will For The Rest of This Season .
You Will Never See Anyone Push and Root For His Team As Hard As I Will For The Rest of This Season.
And You Will Never See Another Team Fight Tougher and Harder Than Louisville Will In the Big East For The Rest of This Season.
God Bless.

by AllinWithMyCards on Jan 12, 2009 11:07 AM MST up reply actions

It's because he IS a better hire than Capers!

Owning the Patriots since September 9, 1960

by Darin H on Jan 12, 2009 11:09 AM MST up reply actions

Will Nolan's suit offset McDaniels hoodie?

Victor Frankl:

What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

by wyoeng on Jan 12, 2009 11:19 AM MST reply actions

LOL

nice

I don’t want breakaway speed. I want break-some-poor-fool-as-I-bowl-you-over power getting 6 yards off a play that should have been stopped for 2 at most.

by sadaraine on Jan 12, 2009 11:38 AM MST up reply actions

I heard Mac Daddy told Dennison he could stay

if he wears the Barrelman outfit.

Thanks to Mike Shanahan, a great coach who will be dearly missed. But...
Let's all get on the Mac Daddy Express!
Hillis for starter next year. He wears special thigh pads so his solid brass balls don't give him repeated thigh contusions.

by 53guys on Jan 12, 2009 1:25 PM MST up reply actions

the suit was a tribute to his father

who was also a football giant, too.

Dick Nolan

by Colinski on Jan 12, 2009 9:40 PM MST up reply actions

What would a 3-4 mean for Larsen?

isn’t the mlb in the 3-4 typically fast, for coverage purposes?

Raji is exciting to me, in that we may be able to trade down and pick up an extra pick, if that’s who the staff decides to go after. We will have a better idea after the senior bowl, and the combine, but I think he would still be there if we could find a trade partner that would move us into the middle of the round.

"(Royal) caught 9 balls for 146 yards and had DeAngelo Hall wishing he was inside with Michael Vick" - MJD Yahoo Sports Blog

by donbok1 on Jan 12, 2009 12:36 PM MST reply actions

My understanding is that it's a better hit for his skills

Larsen has everythi8ng by speed. LBs in a 3-4 play amidst greater congestion, and if I understand things correctly, can more easily overcome lack of speed with instincts and good tackling.

Anybody out there who’s well-versed in the x’s and o’s want to chip in?

by Chibronx on Jan 12, 2009 12:52 PM MST up reply actions

that's what he played in at AU

by Colinski on Jan 12, 2009 9:41 PM MST up reply actions

Larsen will still be a good fit as he reads play well and has a nose for the ball, so that would work well in 3-4 scheme.

Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

by boydy2669 on Jan 12, 2009 12:49 PM MST reply actions

Those are his strengths

His downside was trying to get away from the FB position.

Would we still need a stud ILB (I’m assuimg that Larsen has a shot) or could we talk DJ into it – weakside ILB?

In Goodman We Trust

by Doc Bear on Jan 12, 2009 3:28 PM MST reply actions

Pickup DJ's buddy Vilma in FA...

and put he and DJ on the inside, with Woodyard, Moss, Winborn, and Boss rotating in different situations at OLB. Keep Nico, Larsen, and Haggen for depth and we would be set at LB.

"Choose the sword, and you will join me. Choose the ball and you join your mother, in death. You don’t understand my words, but you must choose. So… come boy, choose life or death."

by ButteBronco on Jan 13, 2009 1:32 PM MST up reply actions

Back to the NT question

Does anyone have any history on drafted NTs? Don’t DL positions generally require some serious learning and development between the college and pro game? Maybe FA is a better bet for NTs?

It's "just" football

by Donkhead on Jan 12, 2009 4:12 PM MST reply actions