Giving Vance the Chance

Count me among the surprised fans of Broncos Country.

I knew two years ago that John Elway, the esteemed NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and current  Denver Broncos ExecutiveVice President of Football Operations, had a strong interest in Vance Joseph.

Joseph was interviewed to be the next defensive coordinator here in Denver, but the Cincinnati Bengals made the rare refusal when a coach has an opportunity to be promoted via hire by an opposing team. The Bengals held firm as Joseph was deemed too valuable to let go. Thus, the Broncos turned to Wade Phillips, a guy who hadn't been in the game for a year.

And that turned out to be a pretty good twist of fate for the Broncos as they marched on to a Super Bowl title.

Former Colorado Buffalo Vance Jospeh did get his promotion from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator with the Miami Dolphins. As all the world of the NFL seems to be connected to Denver in some form or fashion, former Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who obviously coached those same Dolphins back into the playoffs, was the one who knew how valuable Joseph was.

This brings us to last Tuesday when the coaching rumor mill was moving at the speed of the Internet. Which means lots of unverified one source 'stories' that changed on an hourly basis. Atlanta Falcons offense coordinator Kyle Shanahan had become the overnight consensus sensation and the leading candidate to helm the Broncos.

It was actually reported by a couple key sources that Vance Joseph had a good interview, jumped on a place to San Diego and Kyle - the son of former Broncos guru Mike Shanahan, who earned 168 Denver wins plus a couple of those shiny looking Lombardi trophies - was Elway's guy.

As the family sports guy, I reported these facts to my wife, so she would have the water cooler news scoop at work.

Surprise.

Vance never left. He had a nice dinner at Elway's restaurant, got some sleep and returned to team headquarters in Dove Valley to sign a nice 4-year contract to lead the Broncos back to championship form.

Based on all of the sad face and angry face emojis on Facebook, many fans were more disappointed than surprised to see who the new head coach was.

Was it the lack of the 'big name'? Was it because he isn't a Shanahan? Was it reasonably due to lack of experience? Might some of it be the color of his skin?

I'm going with yes to all of the above.

Hang on to your mad face emoji for just a couple seconds.

I think Denver is generally an opened minded town, but then I read all of the horrible reactions to a well scribed Denver Post column. And I so rarely utilize the terms "well scribed" when I speak of Post columnist Mark Kiszla, but he nailed it. Hiring a person of color in the NFL is a big deal. And then 'Kiz' was shredded by many fans for simply suggesting that it is a big deal on social media.

Here is a little helper for racists in the future. If you don't want it to be about racism, don't be hateful when a thoughtful point or discussion is merely raised about the topic. When you do, it makes you look, well, racist.

If we are truly moving past race, I'm all for it. How about what the man brings to the table as a football mind and as a coach.  I've been watching him since he played and coached at the University of Colorado.

I think he has a chance.

I think he was picked for stability.  I think Elway wants a motivator and a manager - yep, conceptually borrowing from baseball. Elway wanted a guy who gets the most out of the players in the long grind that is the NFL season. A guy who is completely focused on those players. And his coaching staff.

Elway has a handle on personal with his staff, he wants a coach who isn't trying to do too much. It backfires on so many coaches. The Josh McDaniels era should ring a bell or two.

Make no mistake, Josh McDaniels knows football. He just wasn't ready to 'manage' a team. Kyle Shanahan is also a fine offensive football mind. But Elway remembers what happens when a coach gets too much power over everything and the team spirals down, as it did at the end of Mike Shanahan's time in Denver.

Will Vance Joseph be a great NFL head coach? None of us knows for sure until the wins and loses are marked every Sunday. But he knows the game, offense and defense. He knows what he wants from every player and coach on the roster. And if he gets it, I'm thinking we see a bunch of wins.

Ultimately, I think Elway went with his gut on this one. I'm okay with that. His gut has stacked up three of those shiny Lombardi trophies so far.


Comments

  1. Good thoughts, Don't. I wish we all weren't so quick to pull the "racist" trigger, but there it is. I remember a time in football when the thought of a black quarterback was perceived as ludicrous, yet there it was. I'm not a Broncos fan, but I hope that Vance Joseph is a good fit there and, at least in some degree, because he's black. In Elway's shoes I'd hope that I wouldn't hire anyone based solely on their race, whatever it be, but also not to overlook the best person for the job because of their race, or any of the myriad other meaningless dividers we use to separate ourselves one from another.
    It was fun to read this. I still hear your voice in your work.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words Wade. I think Elway loves the winning so much he went for the guy he thought could help continue the tradition.

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