According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, the Denver Broncos have scheduled interviews with their final two remaining candidates. San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans will interview for the Broncos job on Thursday while Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will interview for the Broncos job on Friday.
Per source, Broncos have scheduled HC interviews with 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans on Thursday; Dallas DC Dan Quinn on Friday. That would be 8 HC candidate interviews. See what happens from there. Again, Sean Payton, Raheem Morris interviews are Tuesday. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) January 15, 2023
So far, the Broncos have met virtually with Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, and met in person with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, veteran coach Jim Caldwell, and former Stanford Head Coach David Shaw. On Tuesday, they will meet with rumored frontrunner Sean Payton in Los Angeles and then meet with Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris later that day.
After these final two interviews to end the week, we shall see what the Broncos do next. Will they do a second round of interviews? Will they just pick their top candidate? or is there a few more twist and turns in this process still upcoming?
DeMeco Ryans is currently one of the hotter up-and-coming coaches in the league right now. The former Pro Bowl linebacker has turned into one of the better defensive coordinators in the league in just two seasons as the man leading the 49ers' defense. This season, he is the mastermind behind the best defense in the league and has proved to be a leader of men. That is the trait the Broncos are looking for in their head coach and likely a big reason why they want to meet with Ryans. His leadership, culture building, and “CEO of the team” potentially make him a strong candidate for the Broncos job.
However, his inexperience is probably working against him here with this job. The Broncos just fired three straight first-time coaches including the previous coach who couldn’t even finish out the season. So, he has a tough hill to climb to be a real contender for the job.
As for Dan Quinn, he has been consistently mentioned as a favorite for the Broncos' job during this entire process. He was last year as well, but General Manager George Paton decided to hire Nathaniel Hackett instead. Now, just a year later, could the Broncos decide to go with Quinn this time around?
Quinn, who got the Falcons to the Super Bowl (and forever linked to that 28-3 choke job) has a connection with Broncos GM George Paton. The two are good friends and would like to work together. It was supposed to happen last year, but Nathaniel Hackett won Paton over during the interview process. Now, Quinn will get a chance to interview again, but this time, impress the Broncos' new owners who have their eyes set on the big fish on the market.
The Paton factor is probably why Quinn is considered a frontrunner again and he is known for being a great leader and fits what the Broncos ownership is looking for. I believe he is below Harbaugh and Payton, but likely a top fallback option if the Broncos swing and miss on these top targets.
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