Denver Broncos in Total Flux After Departure of Head Coach John Fox

Quarterback Peyton Manning’s status for next season is uncertain, and now the Denver Broncos could have an entirely new coaching staff. Coupled with several high-profile free agents, the Broncos are in so much flux they could send the DeLorean back to 1985.

As first reported by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the Broncos and head coach John Fox decided to part ways Monday after an disappointing 24-13 loss at home to the Indianapolis Colts. In addition, the coaching staff is free to look elsewhere, according to Jeff Darlington of NFL.com.

It’s general manager John Elway’s job to get the house in order. His task will now be replacing Fox. The Broncos are already two weeks behind the curve, which means he’ll need to work quickly.

Team	Seasons	Below .500 Seasons	Wins	Losses	Playoff Wins	Playoff Losses
Carolina Panthers	9	4	73	71	5	3
Denver Broncos	4	0	46	18	3	4

Fox said he intends to keep coaching, so if he gets another job as head coach, the Broncos may have eliminated some of the competition for the remaining candidates. Fox will immediately be a candidate for the jobs in Chicago and Atlanta. It’s not something the Broncos have to worry about unless they go outside the organization for the hire.

The Broncos have several internal candidates who could take over for Fox and keep the coaching staff relatively intact. One option is offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who had four interviews with other teams during the Broncos’ bye week.

Gase is close with Manning, which could sway both of their decisions to be in Denver next season. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Gase and Manning are so close that Manning has been calling teams to tell them how strong a coaching candidate he is. If Manning gives a ringing endorsement to Gase and the organization doesn’t, it could be the start of a major overhaul that no longer includes the veteran quarterback.

Gase has been the offensive coordinator for the last two years, was quarterbacks coach the two years prior to that and the wide receiver coach the two years prior to that. Gase has moved up the coaching ranks quickly and is one of the hottest candidates in this hiring cycle, so it would be strange if he didn’t get heavy consideration in Denver.

Candidate	Age	Current Position	HC Experience	Coordinator Experience
Adam Gase	36	Offensive Coordinator	None	2 years
Jack Del Rio	51	Defensive Coordinator	9 years	3 years
Dan Quinn	44	Defensive Coordinator	0	1 year NFL, 3 years college
Todd Bowles	51	Defensive Coordinator	.5 years	1.5 years NFL, 3 years college
Eric Studesville	47	Running Backs Coach	.5 years	5 years NFL (OC), 3 years college DC
Gary Kubiak	53	Offensive Coordinator	8 years	12 years

Of course, the Broncos could appease Manning by considering Gase but still letting him take another job. The San Francisco 49ers are making a final push to hire Gase tonight, per Rapoport, so the Broncos may have to move quickly if they legitimately want him. If Gase senses there is a chance he won’t get the job in Denver, he’s likely going to make the jump.

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio filled in for Fox when he had a health issue last year and is one of the leading candidates to become the next head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Del Rio has plenty of experience, so if Manning comes back for one last shot at a Super Bowl, the Broncos know they won’t have a head coach who is learning on the job.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Del Rio is traveling to Oakland Monday night for his second interview with the Raiders. Del Rio met with owner Mark Davis in Denver over a week ago but hasn’t met with Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie. If all goes well in that interview, he will likely get the job.

After Del Rio’s decision to put cornerback Aqib Talib on Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton to start the game Sunday, the Broncos may not even consider him. Cornerback Chris Harris Jr., normally talkative, didn’t want to talk about not getting the chance to guard Hilton, according to Lindsay Jones of USA Today. That’s certainly telling about what the players thought of the defensive game plan.

At least the way it looks now, it’s certainly possible that Fox, Gase and Del Rio are all gone next season. That would leave the Broncos looking at outside candidates and likely an entirely new coaching staff with few holdovers.

The only other internal candidate who could get an interview is running backs coach Eric Studesville, who was the interim head coach after the team fired Josh McDaniels four years ago. Studesville has been with the team longer than any other coach has and would also satisfy the Rooney Rule, but he is probably a long shot.

If the Broncos go outside the organization, their candidate list is probably not unlike that of other teams with vacancies. The Broncos want to talk with Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, according to Schefter, but they’ll now have to wait until the Seahawks are out of the playoffs or win the Super Bowl.

Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is also a hot name. He may have been the favorite to land with the Atlanta Falcons, but Fox’s availability may change that. Bowles will get a second interview in Atlanta and with the New York Jets, but it’s possible the Broncos could throw their hat into the ring.

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Bowles has worked under Bruce Arians, who was Manning’s quarterback coach from 1998-2000. It seems unlikely that Manning will return to play under a coaching staff he isn’t comfortable with, so ties like this are important. Of course, the mass exodus from Denver could also mean a retirement announcement from Manning is forthcoming.

One coach who won’t be the next head coach is Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, who announced Sunday he decided to stay in Baltimore. Kubiak received a number of interview requests from NFL teams and turned them down.

According to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun, Kubiak’s integrity and knowledge of the situation with the Broncos are reasons he is likely not going to be the next head coach in Denver, despite his ties to the organization. The timing of Kubiak’s announcement was probably not a coincidence, either.

Of course, some connected people refuse to believe Kubiak is staying in Baltimore until the Broncos hire someone else, according to Darlington. But unless the Broncos get desperate and offer a lot of money and power to Kubiak, it’s probably not going to happen.

Elway has his work cut out for him to stabilize an organization now reeling from its fourth consecutive year in the playoffs without a Super Bowl victory. The message that anything less than a Super Bowl win is unacceptable has been sent, so if his second head-coach hire fails to deliver, fans may look closer at Elway's job performance.