The fourth post-season week of Denver’s head coaching search began with a day more notable for what did not happen than what did.
A Monday of breadcrumbs rather than bombshells.
The Broncos search committee, led by CEO Greg Penner and general manager George Paton, as of early Monday evening had not received word from San Francisco defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans that he intended to take the head coaching job in Houston, according to a source familiar with the search. The feeling in most NFL circles, of course, is that it’s only a matter of time before Ryans, the 38-year-old who is also high on the Broncos’ wishlist, agrees to become the head coach of the Texans, the franchise he played the first six years of his career for.
If the Broncos intend to expand their search for a head coach, though, they did not begin the process Monday. A source told The Post that Denver did not file any new interview requests. At least one other team in the market for a coach did, as Arizona on Monday asked permission to interview Cincinnati coordinators Lou Anarumo (defense) and Brian Callahan (offense) along with New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, according to several reports.
The Bengals joined the 49ers Sunday in being eliminated on conference championship weekend, meaning coaches from those staffs are available for interviews this week.
Denver, though, has not gone beyond the eight interviews it originally conducted.
Of that group, The Post reported Jan. 26 that four — Ejiro Evero, Jim Caldwell, Raheem Morris and David Shaw — were on the outside looking in, according to league sources, though not categorically eliminated from contention.
Ryans could well be Houston’s next coach and nothing in the way of a second interview or, seemingly, substantial progress in discussions has materialized with former New Orleans head coach Sean Payton.
The remaining two, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, have had the leaders of their respective organizations announce that they are staying in their jobs for 2023.
Could that change? Broncos CEO Greg Penner met with Harbaugh in Ann Arbor early last week, about a week after UM president Santa Ono put out a statement saying the eighth-year head coach was returning to his alma mater in 2023.
Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy, similarly, said he was excited about having Quinn back for a third season as the Cowboys’ lead man on defense. Quinn, a finalist for the Broncos’ job a year ago, pulled his name out of the running for jobs this year shortly after interviewing in Arizona and as Ryans’ name gained steam as a top candidate in the Broncos’ search.
Payton during an appearance Sunday morning on FOX acknowledged the coaching carousel is spinning slower this year than it has recently and added, “I think in the next week we’re going to know a lot more.”
Regardless of whether he ends up more heavily involved in the Broncos’ search, that may well prove to be true as it pertains to Penner’s process.
Among the five teams who fired their head coaches, only Carolina has filled its spot so far and did so with Frank Reich, a veteran coach the Broncos did not ask to interview. Ryans signing paperwork with Houston would represent the first domino in Denver’s coaching search to fall with any sort of formality.
The question in Broncos Country at the outset of Week 4, then, is if the Ryans domino tips, which one topples next?
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.
