Denver has completed three interviews with seven more also scheduled for this week, and a new coach expected to be announced shortly after.
Denver sat down with Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn last Thursday, followed by Green Bay QB coach Luke Getsy Friday and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett on Saturday. General Manager George Paton said he is "pleased" with how the first three interviews went, but has given no indication that he will make an offer until all ten interviews are complete. This could raise complications if one of Paton's top targets receives a competing offer before the Denver interviews are done.
Paton meets with Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore today (Tuesday 1/18), followed by interviews with Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and Patriots Linebackers Coach Jerod Mayo on Wednesday. Thursday the Broncos will see the Rams OC Kevin O'Connell and Bengals OC Brian Callahan, finishing up their interview process with Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy on Friday.
Dan Quinn is the expected favorite for Denver's next head coach. This is George Paton's first general manager position, and his list of coaching candidates reflects that. Paton worked with Bieniemy and Gannon previously in his career, so often these are courtesy interviews. Glenn, Hackett, and Getsy all coached in the NFC North against Paton's former team Minnesota, so he is familiar with those guys and respects them, but it's doubtful either of the three are real candidates for Denver. Brian Callahan was on the Broncos coaching staff from 2010 through the Super Bowl in 2015, so it makes sense he would get a sit-down even if he isn't in the running.
That leaves Dan Quinn, Kellen Moore, Kevin O'Connell, and Jerod Mayo. Two young offensive minds, a young defensive mind who was a pro-bowl player, and...an old defensive-minded guy with lots of head coaching experience. If you had to guess...which way do you think Paton will lean? Denver rolled the dice on first-time head coaches with Vance Joseph and Vic Fangio, and that didn't go so well either time. Granted that was John Elway's experiment and not George Paton, but it stands to reason a first-time general manager trying to fix a franchise would lean on a guy with coaching experience over seeing what happens with another first-timer.
The only way that could go sideways is if Dan Quinn receives an offer from Chicago, Miami, or Minnesota before Friday when Paton finishes up with Bieniemy. If Quinn is indeed Paton's first choice and the Dallas coordinator were to accept a different offer, Paton would then look to the list for a backup plan. With none of the names striking me as exciting, we are left to wonder if Denver saved those last two interview slots for some unnamed veteran coaches in case Quinn and others aren't options by the weekend. A Mike Shanahan perhaps...? Wishful thinking.
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