News, Observations and Reactions

Hey everyone, how has the holidays been? Well I am back into it and been reading up on the events that I missed in the previous weeks and the things going forward. A lot of interesting stuff happening at Dove Valley these days and there are a few interesting videos over at the DenverBroncos.com homepage of the interview process with the head coaches. Well lets get into some news, a few observations I have made and what reactions I had and will open it up for discussion.

News

First off the news, as we all know now Elway has joined the front office. But the news of the day is the being of the search for the new head coach. Perry Fewell and current HC Studesville interviewed today for the head coaching position of our team. I liked what I heard from Fewell in his interview on DenverBroncos.com, I like him as a HC and would prefer him over Studes. Though Studes interview looked good as well.

The other news would be the other candidates that the Broncos are looking at. The Broncos have got permission to interview with Dirk Koetter and asked for permission to interview Rick Dennison and John Fox. I believe interviews are planned for Koetter and Dennison on Tuesday. John Fox is slated for an interview on Monday.

Elway also said the team is considering calling former Giants coach Jim Fassel, who tutored Elway in college and in the pros. "Jim is a possibility," Elway said. "I know him really well from him being my college coach and for two years here, and he definitely got some experience with the Giants. So, he's been on the list. We've thrown his name around a little bit. So, we haven't finalized anything on him." Fassel went 58-53-1 from 1997 to 2003 in New York and led the Giants to the Super Bowl following the 2000 season, but they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

Broncos general manager Brian Xanders said Friday on Sirius/XM Radio that San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are among those the Broncos are targeting. I have gone a little cold on Williams, he needs to teach his players to tackle.

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey canceled his Broncos interview that was slated for Friday night in Atlanta, saying he wanted to focus on the playoffs, although he kept his scheduled interview with the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. Mularkey indicated he'd like to talk to the Broncos if the job is still open when the Falcons finish their season -- but that could be a while as the Falcons are the top-seeded team in the NFC playoffs.

That is it for the news, the search for the next head coach is under way and it will be interesting to see what happens, but lets move one.

Observations

These are a few things and thoughts that I have had while and after I watched the press conference of Elway joining the front office. If you haven't watched the hour long presser please do because there is a lot of interesting information and you can understand Elway's view on many issues. Part 1, Part 2 are here.

First off lets start with Joe Ellis. He spoke from a script and congratulated Studes on the job he had did. But to me Ellis comes across as a weak man (expands how McD wowed him). He has this sense of weakness, I don't know I just get that from him. It may be the fact he knows that the McD fiasco is on his shoulders. What you guys think?

Second we move on to Pat Bowlen, to me he seemed disinterested in the presser and at times struggled for words. But that could be put down to the fact he didn't have a script and made it all up. But he came across as tired and disinterested. Again what is your view?

Next would have to be John Elway, compared to the other two you could see the difference in his voice and the way he carried himself. It is like he is breathing live into a dieing franchise. I really liked what he had to say, he may not have the experience but he will be interesting to follow going forward. He also had a number of things to say about Tebow, all of which were good. So all this talk about Tebow being traded is false, just watch the press conference.

A few other things I have noticed is if you have watched the videos of the interview process you can notice that Pat is not involved in the interview process for the new head coach. My question is why not? Does this sort of thing bore him?

I am starting to become a fan of Dennison as head coach, as long as he brings in a good OC and DC. Here is a bit of a read up about him. Dennison, a former Broncos linebacker who appeared in three Super Bowls in his nine seasons, has coached 16 seasons in the NFL, including four as an offensive coordinator. He served as special teams coach for both of Denver's Super Bowl-winning clubs, making him a part of five of the organization's six Super Bowl teams.

In all, Dennison spent 15 seasons on the Denver staff before moving on to Houston in 2010. His 24 combined years as a Broncos player and coach represents the longest tenure in franchise history.
In his first season with the Texans, Dennison's unit finished No. 3 in the NFL in total offense, averaging 386.6 yards per game.

That included a breakout campaign for Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster, who became the first undrafted player since Priest Holmes to win an NFL rushing title. Led by quarterback Matt Schaub and Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson, Houston also finished fourth in passing yards per game.

In Denver, Dennison helped lead one of the league's top offensive lines from 2001-2009. In that span, the team posted four of its top-10 single-season totals for rushing yards and total offense in club history and produced five individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons by four different players.

In his third and final season as offensive coordinator of the Broncos, the team finished with 6,333 yards of total offense -- good for second in the league that year and the second-highest total in team history.

And I also dislike the idea of John Fox as HC, why hirer a coach that had the worst record this year?

Also to note, I said that the day after the Broncos played, Elway would be announced, I was a few days off. I said the day after we would know the GM, Elway announced Xanders as GM during his presser. And I said that a week after that we would have a new HC, which would be in 2 days. So since I was close but not right on those I think we may have a HC by the end of the week.

Reactions

Now I want to talk about the reactions that I had to two things and try to get your views on the situation. The first is Elway being brought in. I always liked the idea of bringing John in but I have been skeptical of what he could bring to the team. But after the presser I am completely sold, thoughts?

The other and more major issue is the role Xanders now plays. I am OK with the idea but would have liked to bring in someone more proven. But like Elway said Xanders is accountable, so he better get it right. It will be interesting to see how the next few months pan out. I for one will give Xanders the chance but I hope he does a great job for the Broncos, your thoughts?

Well that is it from me ~ Aussie.