[Quesadilla Joe]

Klis has hunted down some info. Sounds like the Broncos were getting some Mike Tomlin vibes from DeMeco Ryans...

DeMeco Ryans emerges as a top Broncos head coach candidate https://t.co/gtHVjTwFBP via @9NEWS #9sports

— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) January 26, 2023

Spoiler!

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans has emerged as a top candidate to become the Denver Broncos' next head coach.

Other Broncos’ head coach candidates remain in the mix including Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, former New Orleans Saints’ head coach Sean Payton and former Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts’ head coach Jim Caldwell, according to a source. But Ryans appears to be a top choice.

...



Broncos’ chief executive officer and owner Greg Penner has spent the last few days regrouping with the other involved owners--Carrie Penner, Rob Walton and Condoleezza Rice--as well as general manager George Paton. Penner appears to have taken a meticulous approach to the head coaching search, which includes follow-up conversations both inside and outside team headquarters to gain more information on the candidates and to gauge their interest in the top job.

If Penner wants to interview Ryans for a second time, he will have to wait until early next week. Ryans’ 49ers are playing Sunday against the Eagles in Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game.

If the Broncos do visit with Ryans for a second time, Penner is expected to be joined by fellow owners Rob Walton and Carrie Walton Penner, who have been involved in the process.



When Penner began his head coach search process after firing Nathaniel Hackett with two weeks left in the regular season, his preference was to find someone with previous head coach experience. Why? The Broncos three previous hires for the position since 2017 – Vance Joseph, Vic Fangio and Hackett – were all first-time head coaches. None posted a winning season and all were fired before reaching the end of their respective four-year contracts.

But Penner also kept an open mind while seeking a dynamic leader who had a bit of an edge for his next head coach and he didn’t limit his 8 candidates to those with previous experience. While Jim Harbaugh, Raheem Morris, Quinn, Payton and Caldwell are candidates with previous NFL head coach experience, three did not – Ryans, the Broncos’ own defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and David Shaw, who recently stepped away as Stanford’s head coach.


Penner, co-owner Rice and Paton came away impressed with Ryans during their interview with him last Thursday in the San Francisco Bay area. And while Ryans’ coaching resume is thin in terms of experience compared to other NFL head coaches, so was Mike Tomlin’s before the Rooney family was blown away his by clear leadership command and hired him to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach in 2007. Tomlin is still the Steelers head coach 16 years later as he has yet to experience a losing season.

Tomlin became head coach after just one year as a defensive coordinator. Ryans has been the 49ers’ defensive coordinator the past two years and was enormously successful each season. The 49ers were No. 3 in total defense in 2021 and tied for No. 9 in scoring defense, then became a postseason surprise with playoff upsets of the Cowboys in Dallas and Packers in Green Bay before nearly defeating the Rams in Los Angeles in the NFC Championship Game.

Although Ryans implements a 4-3 defensive system, it's possible Evero would return as the Broncos' defensive coordinator even though Evero runs a 3-4 defense as it will take a while for general manager George Paton to adjust his roster personnel.