Broncos Monday Ramblings (BMR): Special Postseason Edition All right, Ive had a few days to ruminate and speculate, and here are some of my thoughts regarding the abrupt end of the Broncos season. First of all, I want to recognize and thank all of you (my blog readers) for your interest and participation in BMR. I know that technically, BMR isnt a blog, but it functions much like one. Heres the thing: I enjoy reading and responding to your ideas and reactions to my stuff as much (or more) than you do. So, please continue to follow me. In return, I will do my best to keep BMR fresh and thought provoking. Deal? Next, lets get into what has transpired in Bronco Nation since those agonizing seconds ticked down last Sunday. Ive already analyzed the game itself, so Im going to speculate on what transpired in the immediate aftermath. Suffice it to say, that I do take a little pleasure in my prediction that Elway would cut ties with Fox sooner than later. In the give and take afterword, that prognostication turned out to be true and Part of the reason, it appears was to allow Elway to at least kick the tires with Adam Gase. As my friend Billy Rieffel predicted, Gary Kubiak is also a strong candidate. The Broncos also have to abide by the Rooney rule which requires them to interview minority candidates: kind of the NFLs version of Affirmative Action. And, IMHO, very justified because, believe me, there is no more of good old boy, brother-in-law milieu than the world of coaching. GMs and owners want to go with the guys they know and a one or two time interview seldom reveals the essence of what a coach really believes in. Just look at the two leading candidates for the Broncos job: they are guys that Elway has more than a vague knowledge of. While, this is situation isnt racist, the fact is that the large majority of the coaching world is white, so the majority of the special relationship are going to be white to white.The two minority interviewees appear to be Pe Hamilton, offensive coordinator for the Colts and Detroits defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, With all that in mind, I think that its vital that the new Broncos coach must have been a coordinator, and that he isnt a position coach. Head coaching experience would probably be a plus because this isnt going to be a position in which the new guy is going to have a lot of wiggle room. The stark truth of the matter is that you cant keep your job with John Elway as your boss, if all you do is take a 2-14 football team in total disarray, go 46-18 in four years, win four straight divisional titles, advance to the second round of the playoffs every year and go to the Super Bowl once. The bar is set pretty damned high. Name me a coach not named Bill Belichick who has done that? (Weve already had the Belichick clone here in Denver. How did that work out?) Look, maybe John Fox decided he wanted out as much as John Elway wanted him out, but perhaps Foxs feeling was based on knowing that the Broncos are in a pretty tight situation vis-a-vis their quarterback situation. At most Peyton is returning for two more seasons and that is a very optimistic opinion. Personally, I believe that he will be back for one more year, but I wouldnt be totally shocked of he decided to hang em up after the miserable half season he endured just now. Another factor is whether or not Peyton will want to break in a new offensive coordinator. Looking back on Mannings three years as a Bronco, it has been truly a rare privilege to watch him play. Without question, hes the most skilled quarterback I have ever watched and there has never been anyone like him. Heres my hint of a criticism after watching the last three years: He doesnt heal quickly- what 38 year old heals as quickly as he did when he was 28? While he can play at a very high level in his thirties, he doesnt appear to have an even higher playoff gear that many NFL players have. So, once the playoffs get started, the others are playing more on Peytons level and that may explain why his playoff record isnt as stellar as his regular season record. (I get the feeling that its kind of a Mannings Wilt to Bradys Russell deal.) And, what of the loss of Jack Del Rio? There are a lot of folks around who are convinced that Del Rio made a real career killing move by signing on with the Silver and Black. Well, I could be wrong but my sense is that this is a great hire for Mark Davis. I think that JDR will do a great job for the Raiders. It isnt like the cupboard is bare there. They do have a promising young QB in Derek Carr and a rare pass rushing edge player in Kahlihl Mack. Lets not forget what an able defnsive coach JDR is. Last season, he got to the Super Bowl with what was essentially a JV team after all of the injuries had devastated the Broncos defense. In last years SB, it rwally wasnt the defense that broke down in the first half and the Denver defense actually kept the team in the game through halftime. Think about it, who has played Seattles offense better than Del Rio in the last few years. This year, in each of the Broncos losses, the game was still competitive well into the fourth quarter, even in the St Louis debacle. Was the Denver defense flawless? No, but by and large, it was one of the top five defenses in the NFL for most of Del Rios tenure here. Finally, lets consider who the next coach is going to be and what his chances are for success. I am not normally a pessimistic person, but realistically, I have to be pessimistic with regard to the mindset the new coach will be walking into. I think that there are an abnormally large number of people who think that this years Broncos team should have gone16-0 in the regular season and won all three pllayoff games by double digits. They also believe that this team would have done that were it not for the fact that John Fox and jack Del Rio screwed it up. And, heres the kicker, I am not sure that one of the people who believes that scenario is John Elway. If theres a scintilla of truth to that mindset, the new head coach is going to have a Mount Everest to climb! Because, heres the thing about football (at all levels): the team with the most tools and best talent RARELY wins the ultimate championship. Ohio State is the latest example of this phenomenon. Almost all of the time,it is the team that is young and hungry, knowing that it is a little outmanned and playing with a chip on its shoulder. That kind of attitude lends itself to a team playing a little over its head, and that is how championships are won- much of the time. Thats why it is so hard to repeat. Its hard to win one year and return the next with the same hungry attitude. Who do I think John Elway will hire? Gary Kubiak. Who di I think they SHOULD hire? Hmmm, thats a tough one. How about Pep Hamilton? And Id bring in Jim Schultz (late of Detroit and Buffalo) as defensive coordinator. I imagine that Adam Gase will be gone, so Id look to Greg Knapp (present QB coach) as offensive coordinator. Finally, my number one priority to sign form all the free agents they will have would be Terrence Pot Roast Knighton. So, thats my 2¢ worth!
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 16:16:55 +0000
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