The Denver Broncos are still going through the interview process to find a new head coach after Sean Payton backed out of his candidacy for the job.
While Payton has since pushed back against the report, it was believed that he had an issue with a member of the Broncos’ new ownership group during his interview with the organization.
We now have a bit more information on the Broncos’ search for a new head coach. It doesn’t necessarily paint the organization in the best of lights.
According to Woody Paige of the Denver Gazette, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans has told the Broncos he has no interest in the job.
Ryans is clearly focused on becoming the next Houston Texans head coach and could be hired at some point soon. Despite Ryans having starred at linebacker for the Texans from 2006-11, it is still surprising that he would opt for that hot mess of an organization over the Broncos. Houston just fired Lovie Smith, making him the second consecutive one-and-done head coach for the organization.
Related: Denver Broncos move on from interim head coach Jerry Rosburg
DeMeco Ryans shunning the Denver Broncos is not a great look
All of this comes amid a growing belief that new Broncos co-owner Greg Penner is taking too much of a hands-on role right now. He’s heading a group consisting of general manager George Paton and minority owner Condoleezza Rice in looking for a new head coach.
It’s not hard to read between the lines when it comes to the aforementioned report on Sean Payton. Whether Ryans’ decision to shun the Broncos was partly due to these issues remains to be seen. But Penner has made it clear that he’s going to have a direct relationship with the next Broncos head coach.
“The new coach will report to me, which is a more typical structure in the NFL. Obviously, the relationship between the general manager and head coach is a critical one, and George is going to be intimately involved in this process of looking for a new head coach and we’ll make sure there’s a good fit there.”
New Denver Broncos owner Greg Penner after the firing of Nathaniel Hackett
There’s also something to a recent report suggesting that Penner met directly with Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh over the past week.
That came after Harbaugh announced he was returning to Michigan. He had previously interviewed for the Broncos’ opening. This revelation surprised other candidates for Denver’s opening, leading to more drama behind the scenes.
Penner joined fellow owner and Walmart heir Rob Walton in purchasing the Broncos back in June. The organization is coming off an ugly five-win campaign, one in which head coach Nathaniel Hackett didn’t even last a full season. Denver has not earned a spot in the NFL Playoffs since its Super Bowl season of 2015.