The Denver Broncos interviewed three candidates for their head coaching vacancy; hiring their last interviewee in Vance Joseph. Many fans don’t understand why he would hire a defensively-minded coach over the hottest offensive coordinator in the NFL in Kyle Shanahan.
To answer that question, we should ask ourselves what makes a good head coach? To do that, I referenced a “Dos and Don’ts” guide to hiring a head coach published by Mike Nolan a few days ago.
Don’t...
... hire the hot candidate just because he is sexy and fans will approve.
... become enamored with (and hire) a coordinator from a top franchise with the thought that you will get the same results.
... allow the media or any other outside entities to drive your search.
Hmm.
Shanahan fits every single one of those criteria. Nolan breaks down each rather succinctly within the larger post, but the bullet points above offer enough insight to make the point he was trying to make.
The respect of a candidate should lie in a coach’s body of work, not for their success after a single year. Shanahan had plenty of red flags in his personality that should have given us all pause, but the offense was so bad in 2016 that fans readily swept those under the rug.
John Elway was right to ignore the media and fan hype around Shanahan and here is why:
Do...
... find someone who can assemble (and trust) a stellar staff.
... find someone who can work with the personnel man -- or stay the hell out of his way.
... know what you mean when you say you want a "leader."
Joseph solidly meets every single one of those criteria laid out by Nolan. All signs point towards Joseph filling his coaching staff with experience, intelligent and high-energy guys.
From Mike McCoy to run the offense to either Wade Phillips or a well-respected rising star in current Broncos defensive backs coach Joe Woods to handle the defense, Joseph is surrounding himself with the kind of talent that will enable the team to succeed. He plans to uphold the winning standard that Elway brought back to Denver in 2011.
The last part is ultimately where Joseph separated himself from all contenders. All reports coming in regarding Joseph’s most impressive quality is his leadership. Leadership means different things to different people, so for him to be able to command that kind of respect from his peers and his players is what should impress people the most.
We should expect to see a strong coaching staff in 2017. Joseph should keep much of the defensive coaching staff, but look for him and his eventual offensive coordinator to fill the offensive side of the coaching staff with fresh blood and new focus.
It’s an exciting time to be a Broncos fan!
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