Broncos to interview Mularkey for HC position

Douglas Lee Jan 4, 2011 12:40 PM

As was previously speculated upon a few weeks back, the Broncos indeed have interest in Atlanta Falcons OC Mike Mularkey for their vacant head coaching position. The team has announced via Twitter that Mularkey will interview for the job on Friday.

UPDATE 1:03PM ET - According to Jason La Canfora, Mularkey will also be interviewing with the Browns.

Links:

Gray Caldwell's story from the Broncos' website
Andrew Mason's version
Lindsay Jones from the Denver Post

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

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@jt

Fair enough. The only two spots I disagree are that I don&#8217t necessarily see the need for a defensive HC, just one who knows his shit, can run a team, and hires great people. Basically, the same rules as any leader.

I also agree with Doc&#8217s assessment that we aren&#8217t that far off, and that some quality impact players at key positions will make a lot of other folks look and perform better. Not ideal, but at least it will make the team a contender sooner that cleaning house and rebuilding for the next 3 years. Note how much better the Chiefs play with a quality QB&#8212it&#8217s night and day.

Posted by jvill on 2011-01-06 02:21:40

jvill,

Coaching: that they should be talking to defensive-minded guys. At the time I wrote that, it sounded like it was offensive coaches under consideration only. Today (or yesterday maybe), Elway cited a study by Xandiers that supposedly produced, and the result is they&#8217re now considering a couple of defensive coordinators/coaches. I&#8217m glad to see it.

I do think that most of this team will have to go, if they truly want a top-notch, repeat championship team. Nope, I don&#8217t think they should do it overnight/in one season. The offense is ok in some areas, and they shouldn&#8217t disturb that. However, is this the running crew we want? I&#8217m not so sure about that. The QB position is definitely not a given, either (even for a Tebow guy like myself). The O-line needs to be handled with kid gloves, no doubt about it.

The defense&#8230sheesh. The changes will have to go deeper, but I&#8217d guess they could build successfully without completely raping the team by replacing maybe 40% of what they have, along with reconsidering whether the 3-4 is what they want. Sign Champ. Move him to safety and use him in a leadership role for the corners/safeties they&#8217re going to have to bring in. We have ok linebackers, but not pro-bowl caliber ones. With a 3-4, you definitely need pro-bowl linebackers.

I am happy that Elway&#8217s in the position he&#8217s in. He&#8217s a smart guy. Hopefully Ellis steps back&#8230waaaaaaay back.

Posted by jtomasik on 2011-01-05 21:30:52

JT: I guess it is all about whose line of BS you&#8217re swallowing&#8230

Posted by DCJ on 2011-01-05 04:25:57

Jtomasik: Iâm really afraid the front office just isnât getting it.

What does that mean? What don&#8217t they get by interviewing Mularkey? The season ended 2 days ago, they are set to annouce Elway this week, and already you&#8217re out of patience? How much faster do they need to move?

From your posts you seem to think the team needs to replace about 80% of it&#8217s players (in one season?) but then you say Josh McDaniels moved too quickly replacing his players.

So I&#8217m honestly confused. What doesn&#8217t the FO get, and what specific, practical realistic steps do you think they should take?

Posted by jvill on 2011-01-05 04:08:29

DCJ, or, the coach might publicly humiliate a franchise QB in his new organization, then trade him off in the hopes of getting a QB that lost an additional 5 games the one season he played to replace the franchise QB of the coach&#8217s previous team with the delusional idea that it was the coach&#8217s intelligence that made that previous team successful, when in reality it was a hall of fame QB who really did the deed. To ice the cake, that traded franchise QB of his new team would go on to the playoffs with his new team, while the team the fired coach left behind needs to spend the next 4 years rebuilding after the mess he made.

My god, that&#8217d be hilariously idiotic, wouldn&#8217t it?

Posted by jtomasik on 2011-01-05 04:05:29

JT does point out a problem. What if the Broncos hire a hot Offensive Coordinator who has had success with an unknown QB. The new head coach might entertain trade offers to get the young QB he is familiar with, and the current popular but unproven QB might have a snit fit and refuse to play with the new head coach. Mularkey would then be forced to trade the current starter to another team and Germany would invade Poland and all heck would break loose and the fans would never give the new head coach a chance and he&#8217d be fired before the end of his second year&#8230

Posted by DCJ on 2011-01-05 03:47:30

Mularkey would be better than Fassel IMO. That&#8217s all I have to say about that.

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-01-05 02:32:03

I wasn&#8217t a fan of Harbaugh&#8217s persona in the recent interviews I&#8217ve seen with him, have to say. Becoming less a fan of him than I was though it&#8217s hard to doubt his mind. Mularkey would be a very, very solid choice imho. Would he bring Musgrave with him? is my question and dream.

Posted by underdog on 2011-01-05 00:46:42

Well, I&#8217d certainly be more comfortable with Mularkey than Jim Harbaugh.

Posted by Joaquim Baeta on 2011-01-04 23:54:29

It kills me to look at the Browns list and see Mohrninweg on it. He is absolutely the kind of person the Broncos should be interviewing, but I&#8217m betting they think the ex-Lions coach is a PR nightmare.

Posted by Chibronx on 2011-01-04 22:11:03

I suspect Mularkey will be hired, but of the names I&#8217ve seen/heard mentioned by people who actually seem to know what they&#8217re talking about (I really don&#8217t), I like Ron Rivera.

Posted by CompUser on 2011-01-04 21:38:03

If it&#8217s a choice between Mularkey and Fassel, I&#8217d go with Mularkey. If the front office can get things going in the right direction, Mularkey could be successful.

Fassel, on the other hand, has never shown much in the NFL since his tenure with the Giants ended.

I would hope the Broncos consider other candidates as well, though. I agree with Ted Bartlet that Gregg Williams is a good candidate and I&#8217d also like to see the Broncos approach at least a couple others&#8230 they&#8217ve got Harbaugh on their list, but they might want to approach Rob Ryan as well.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-01-04 21:25:33

I like the potential of Mularkey rather than Fassel. Heck, maybe even Harbaugh. This whole Luck/Harbaugh/Stanford thing is making me nauseous. Beyond sick of it!

Posted by Gristle McThornbody on 2011-01-04 21:03:56

Will he bring Ryan with him? Tebow&#8217s still a question mark, and Moreno has only proven he can get injured enough to prevent him from being consistently productive.

I think the offense needs more help than people are talking about, and maybe that&#8217s only because the defense stinks so bad. About the only thing going for the offense are a couple of receivers, maybe one TE, and maybe a guard. Other than that&#8230sheesh.

I&#8217m really afraid the front office just isn&#8217t getting it.

Posted by jtomasik on 2011-01-04 20:37:51

It appears that Mularkey has been capable of utilizing preexisting offensive pieces without having to bring wholesale changes to the offensive personnel in order to make his offenses hum. To me, that is great, because I feel that the Broncos have many good to great pieces on offense. Tight end is the one area that could use some tinkering, however.

Whoever the coach is, the Broncos must infuse youth, speed, and depth on defense. In particular, the Broncos must begin to create consistent pressure on the quarterback, cover speedy running backs on passing routes much better, control pass catching tight ends, and eliminate the amount of big plays the defense gives up. Certainly, no small feat.

Posted by RSH on 2011-01-04 19:39:22

He would definitely be the type to tailor the offense to the players (Tebow especially.)

Posted by SobchakBronco on 2011-01-04 19:35:55

Funny Dude! I like Mularkey, I see a bit of genius in him with a lot of intensity. He&#8217s a meticulous preparer and could really develop Tebow.

Posted by SobchakBronco on 2011-01-04 19:34:29

Quick, before Woody Paige can get to it, &#8220I hope interviewing Mike isn&#8217t just a bunch of Mularkey.&#8221

Got you, Paige.

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2011-01-04 19:20:31

I think Mularkey would be a great fit for the Broncos. Now, if we only had a bona fide GM.

Posted by RSH on 2011-01-04 19:03:42

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