The Broncos ownership group is “expected to be ‘ultra aggressive’ in doing whatever it takes to land the head-coaching candidate it wants,” according to sources cited by Adam Schefter of ESPN. There is “no salary cap” on what owners can spend on a head coach, their staff and the rest of the organization -- and the Rob Walton-Greg Penner group that purchased the Broncos last summer is “not expected to spare any expense or cut any corners in its effort to upgrade the franchise.” The most high-profile candidate is former Saints coach Sean Payton, “who will command one of the league's richest head-coaching contracts.” The Broncos fired coach Nathaniel Hackett last Monday after falling to 4-11, “abruptly ending the shortest tenure of any noninterim head coach in franchise history” (ESPN.com, 1/1). In Colorado Springs, Paul Klee wrote “until it proves it in the football world, the jury’s still out on the Penner-Walton ownership group.” Klee: “But here’s a hunch the Broncos job will be the most coveted job on the market.” Even with QB Russell Wilson’s contract, “money talks," and the NFL’s "richest ownership group can offer more cash than anyone else.” Klee: “Bold prediction: a record-setting deal for the next coach. That alone will make the Broncos the most attractive open job” (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 12/31).
AT A CROSSROADS: In Denver, Parker Gabriel wrote the Broncos have found “themselves at a crossroads.” They have new ownership in place and a struggling QB “with a huge contract.” They have "missed seven consecutive postseasons since hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February 2016." The new ownership group “wasn’t here for any of those hires.” There are “going to be immediate expectations.” The next coach “may do well to temper them a bit more publicly than Hackett did, but that won’t change the evaluation process from Penner.” Money alone “is only a barrier to the extent that the new ownership group decides it is.” Denver now “can outbid other teams,” pro or college, for any coach they want except maybe for Payton, “who will cost both top dollar and also draft capital (perhaps multiple premium picks) paid to the Saints.” Gabriel noted resources, though, “also go beyond how much a head coach makes," and that is an area GM George Paton and Penner “stressed as a potential differentiator for Denver.” Penner “promised a top-to-bottom look at the football operation this offseason.” Throwing money at problems is "not always a great approach, but Denver is now in a position as an organization to make whatever changes, adjustments or implementations it sees fit to put coaches and players in a position to succeed” (DENVER POST, 12/31).
HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR: NBC SPORTS’s Peter King wrote he does not “understand two things about the Denver situation.” One is that the new coach will "report to the owner’s rep" in Penner, "not the GM.” That sets up the coach “going over" Paton’s head, "whether the owner thinks it does or not.” King: “What, is the owner going to want to meet with the coach every Monday after the game? Will Paton be invited? I mean, why invite a separation like that?” (NBCSPORTS.com, 1/2).
