NFL Insider, Benjamin Allbright, joined the crew from Orange and Blue 760 today to talk about Denver’s offseason so far. Around the 9:00 mark, he addresses Denver’s offensive coordinator search and the expected hiring of Rich Scangarello.
Allbright, who knows Scangarello said Denver would be getting a great X’s and O’s coordinator who’s calling card is quarterback and wide receiver development (know any young wide receivers who need development?).
It was Scangarello who found 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens and convinced Kyle Shanahan to sign him as an undrafted free agent in 2017.
“Coach Scangarello, he pretty much found me,” Mullens said. “I was at East-West Shrine game in [St. Petersburg, Florida] and I guess he liked the things that I did in that game and in those practices. And then he followed up with me with a phone call after that.”
”Then I took a visit here to the facility in [Santa Clara, California]. The 49ers showed me the most interest all the way through the draft process. So, in the sixth round, they gave me a call, said they wanted to sign me as a free agent.”
Allbright also credited Rich for finding J.T. O’Sullivan while coaching at UC Davis. While not lighting the league on fire, O’Sullivan went on to have a long football career. Scangarello has a knack for finding guys that don’t have all the physical tools and getting the most out of them.
This is such a great story by @mattbarrows from 2017 on potential offensive coordinator for the #Broncos, Rich Scangarello.
— Ian St. Clair (@IanStClair) January 15, 2019
... "‘How can we attack the defense and create explosive (plays)?’ It really changed my mindset for the better.” https://t.co/oZ1W6VQDuE
Lastly, while perhaps his career path has not been the most orthodox, Allbright suggests this might actually benefit him because “innovation in football typically occurs at the lower levels”. It has taken the NFL years to catch on to spread trends that have been commonplace at the lower levels of football for over a decade. Thus, exposure to D-II and the FCS levels in the coaching ranks gives Scangarello a broad base of experience, to pair with his knowledge of Kyle Shanahan’s system.
Be on the lookout for the news to potentially become official tomorrow, and give the interview above a listen for some great insight on Denver’s potential offensive coordinator.