Three numbers to know for Broncos-Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — “I ain’t scared.”

Jerry Rosburg made that proclamation at his post-practice press conference Friday.

It’s a good thing, too. Because the numbers are decidedly not in his favor — at least for this week.

Forget about the 14-game losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs. Yes, that matters. But so, too, does the Broncos riding the wave that rolled in when Rosburg moved to an office with a view of the Front Range.

That being said, teams with interim coaches making their debuts have found the going rough against playoff-bound teams …

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5-25

Yes, it’s not good for interim coaches making their debuts against foes that end up in the playoffs in the Super Bowl era.

Not only that, but interim coaches opening in that scenario have lost 10 of the last 11, dating back a quarter-century, to 1997.

What’s more, it’s even worse historically on the road …

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0-14

Yes, that is the record of teams led by interim head coaches making their debuts against playoff teams on the road in the Super Bowl era.

What’s more, the games are rarely close. Ten of the 14 were decided by double digits. Eight were decided by three scores or more. And the average score of these games is 26-9 against the team led by the interim head coach.

If the Broncos win, this will be one to remember. Maybe the biggest surprise since the 30-14 win over the Los Angeles Raiders during the 1987 strike.

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5

As in, Rosburg becomes the fifth head coach for the Broncos since Super Bowl 50. No team has more, as this pushed the Broncos into a tie with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants. Like the Broncos, those teams had four permanent head coaches and one interim boss in that span.

Not exactly the company that one wants to keep.

The Broncos are a virtual certainty to have this mark all to themselves unless Rosburg earns the permanent job. That’s because the Giants and Jaguars are in playoff contention and quite pleased with their current head coaches, Brian Daboll and Doug Pederson, respectively.

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SOME MORE NUMBERS REGARDING INTERIM HEAD COACHES MAKING THEIR DEBUTS:

.370

That is the overall winning percentage of teams in the Super Bowl era (1966-present) with new coaches taking over during the regular season after the original coach resigned or was fired. That comes out to a 34-58 mark.

10-7

Record of interim head coaches in their debuts since 2015. This includes a 7-4 mark in that span for interim head coaches starting their work on the road — but 0-2 when they opened against teams that ended up making the playoffs, as Kansas City will for the eighth consecutive season.

63

Percentage of interim head coaches in the Super Bowl era who had a better winning percentage that season than their predecessors. Now, this includes some one-game interim bosses like Jim Tomsula (San Francisco, 2010) and Pat Shurmur (Philadelphia, 2015) who opened with season finales and won them. A 1-1 mark for the Broncos would do the trick.

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