A day after newly hired Denver Broncos Head Coach Vance Joseph hired both Mike McCoy and Bill Musgrave to be the team's Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback Coach, he added another talented and phenomenal piece to the Broncos offensive staff.
The Denver Broncos announced today that they added Offensive Line Coach Jeff Davidson to their staff.
Coach Joseph continues to add to his coaching staff
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 14, 2017
" https://t.co/UuatTf8EtP pic.twitter.com/zECqbOdvQh
Davidson is a former Denver Broncos draft pick(selected in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL Draft) and played a few seasons in Denver blocking for Hall Of Fame quarterback John Elway.
Not only is Davidson a familiar face for the Broncos, he has turned into one of the better and more respected Offensive Line Coaches in the league. Davidson is also reuniting with newly hired Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy. He also served as McCoy's Offensive Line Coach for the San Diego Chargers in 2016 so the familiarity continues.
Davidson's track record is pretty impressive as well. It seems like wherever he lands, that teams run game improves.
Jeff Davidson was highly regarded in lone season with Chargers. Offensive line coach has followed Mike McCoy to Denver in same role.
— Michael Gehlken (@sdutGehlken) January 14, 2017
Last season San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon had a breakout season where he totaled 997 yards in 11 starts, and also had 10 rushing touchdowns. Davidson was the Minnesota Vikings Offensive Line Coach from 2011 to 2015 and during that span, the Vikings rushed for the second most yards per game(138.1 yards). He also was the Offensive line coach for Adrian Peterson's 2,000-yard rushing season. Davidson was the Carolina Panthers Offensive Coordinator from 2007-2010 and they averaged 134.5 yards rushing during that span. Davidson had the duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart running the ball back in those days. So if this trend continues, the Broncos rush game should improve with Davidson's offensive line blocking for them.
Jeff Davidson will be #Broncos OL coach, as @MikeKlis reported. Veteran OL coach who worked w/ Chargers under McCoy last yr, power scheme.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 14, 2017
The addition of Davidson also means the Broncos are officially moving away from Gary Kubiak's zone scheme. He runs more of a power blocking scheme and this should benefit two young Broncos guards the most. Both Max Garcia and Connor McGovern has bigger/more powerful blockers who should thrive in this scheme.
I would like to see the Broncos sign a guard this offseason to fill one of the starting guard spots and allow Garcia and McGovern to battle for one starting job.
Now this move also hurts some of the Broncos current offensive linemen. It likely signals the end of Donald Stephenson's unsuccessful tenure with the team and could put Ty Sambrailo on the roster bubble. Ty's game was never about power so he could be outs because of this(and his awful play).
@Skotty_Payne dont necessarily need to be a 'people-mover' to succeed in gap scheme. Needs to fit, control, and steer. Paradis is capable
— Brandon Thorn (@VeteranScout) January 14, 2017
I was concerned about center Matt Paradis in a power scheme, but thankfully a friend of the site Brandon Thorn eased my concerns by telling me that Paradis is capable in a power scheme as well. So Paradis should continue being of the league's best centers even after this scheme change.
Vance Joseph's offensive staff is really turning out to be a phenomenal group and we should see the unit take a big step forward in 2017. Especially the run game after the addition of Davidson which is exciting news. Will be interesting to see if the Broncos bring in any bigger/strong lineman in this offseason to compete for or fill a starting job on the offensive line.