Most of these have been talked about for days, but the official announcement has been made.
The Denver Broncos on Tuesday announced the hiring of five assistant coaches, including Mike McCoy as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and Mike Priefer as special teams coordinator. The club also announced the hiring of Ed Donatell as secondary coach, Adam Gase as wide receivers coach, and Wayne Nunnely as defensive line coach.
McCoy, 36, joins Denver as its offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach after spending the previous nine seasons with the Carolina Panthers. McCoy started as an offensive assistant in 2000 before becoming the team's quarterbacks coach four weeks into the season. When Head Coach John Fox joined the team in 2002, McCoy served as the team's offensive assistant. He regained his role as quarterbacks coach from 2003-06 before becoming the team's passing-game coordinator for the last two seasons.
Priefer, 42, joins the Broncos as their special teams coordinator after spending three seasons as Kansas City's special teams coach. Priefer, the son of former NFL coach Chuck Priefer, entered the NFL coaching ranks as an assistant special teams coach with Jacksonville in 2002. He served as an assistant special teams coach for the New York Giants from 2003-05 before joining the Chiefs in 2006.
Donatell, 51, joins the Broncos for his second stint with the team, after coaching their secondary from 1995-99, including during the team's back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1997-98. He brings 18 years of NFL coaching experience, including stops with the New York Jets (1990-94), Denver (1995-99), Green Bay (2000-03), Atlanta (2004-06) and the Jets (2007) before working as defensive coordinator at the University of Washington in 2008.
Gase comes to the Broncos as the team's wide receivers coach after spending last season as an offensive assistant in San Francisco. Prior to his tenure with the 49ers, Gase spent six seasons with the Detroit Lions (2002-07). He joined the Lions in a scouting/coaching capacity under Steve Mariucci in 2002. Gase served as the team's offensive quality control coach in 2006 under Head Coach Rod Marinelli before coaching the team's quarterbacks in 2007.
Nunnely, 56, comes to the Broncos with 14 seasons of NFL experience, including the last 12 as San Diego's defensive line coach. Before his stint with the Chargers, Nunnely opened his NFL coaching career as the defensive line coach with the New Orleans Saints (1995-96).
There is also a report in the Oakland Tribune that Denver has signed former Raiders coach Don Martindale to become the Linebackers Coach for the Broncos. This little tidbit is somewhat interesting because Martindale's name had recently surfaced as the leading candidate to become, at the minimum, Raiders' DC, possibly even the Head Coach. 2 days later, Martindale takes what is in effect a lateral move with the Broncos. Things in Oakland really suck!
Some notes on the new coaches --
Coach NFL Exp. Position with Broncos
Ed Donatell 18 Secondary
Adam Gase 7 Wide Receivers
Mike McCoy 9 Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Wayne Nunnely 14 Defensive Line
Mike Priefer 8 Special Teams Coordinator