Schlereth: Jaguars more appealing free agent option than Broncos

With the Denver likely all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the Broncos turn to second-year quarterback and 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch on Sunday in Oakland.

Also, Broncos head coach Vance Joseph earlier this week let go of offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, promoting quarterbacks coach, and former Raiders offensive coordinator, Bill Musgrave to the role.

All signs seem to point toward a rebuild, or at least a regrouping, by the Broncos.

But, attracting new talent to Denver might be harder than anticipated, Mark Schlereth said this week.

“If I’m Kirk Cousins and I have two choices and the money’s the same, am I choosing Denver or Jacksonville? I’d go to Jacksonville,” the “Schlereth & Evans” host said. “It’s got more stability. There’s more stability there.”

Schlereth insisted he wasn’t “trying to be a jerk,” but just relaying the sentiment players outside the Broncos locker room.

“I’m just telling you the way players think in the locker room. Players outside this locker room, they see what’s going down,” Schlereth said.

Schlereth pointed to the group of several head coaches and their staffs who’ve moved through Denver during John Elway’s time as an executive as part of the issue.

“Here’s the real issue you get into. Based on the history of the John Fox regime and the Gary Kubiak regime and now the Vance Joseph regime, one, this is no longer a free agent destination,” Schlereth said. “Two, you think any coach worth his salt wants to coach here?”

Elway hired Fox in 2011 shortly after joining the franchise in an executive role, and the head coach and the organization parted ways after falling in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs in 2014.

Kubiak joined the club in 2015, leading the Broncos to a Super Bowl in his first season with the club, but opted to step away from coaching in January after a disappointing 2016 season.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.