The choice is obvious; Ejiro Evero is the right head coach for the Broncos
Jan 13, 2023, 6:42 AM
Betting money says the Broncos next head coach is either Sean Payton or Jim Harbaugh. Why those two guys? Well, things are so screwed up around here under Nathaniel Hackett that everyone believes Denver needs a big name to set things straight.
Harbaugh. Payton. Super Bowls. Big names.
Once one of these dudes arrives, we’ll have a chance. But until then, we’re screwed.
Sure, we’ll have to give up scarce assets and ink a record-breaking contract, but its totally worth it to find “The Guy.”
The guy with over a decade of success.
The guy who won a Super Bowl.
The guy who rubs people the wrong way.
The guy who… wait, where have I heard this before?
Look, Broncos Country isn’t stupid. They don’t need a “splashy hire” at head coach. They’ve just gone down that road at quarterback. They need a strong leader with an even temperament. Someone who can read the room. Someone with a pulse for the moment. Not some football dictator.
Greg Penner may not be a football genius, but he doesn’t need a guide. He needs a partner.
So who is that guy?
Good news! He already has an office in the building.
The 2022 season was hard for the Broncos. Nathaniel Hackett failed to deliver on his promises. But failure teaches you things. What things? I don’t know and neither do you, but the guys in that locker room do. And so do the coaches.
Those coaches know exactly what went wrong with this group of football players. They know why they couldn’t find a way to win all of those close games they were in.
They know where and how and why Hackett blew it and they will take those lessons, apply them as football coaches and be better for it. Nowhere are those lessons more applicable than right here, right now, with this group of players.
Hackett was right; they were close. That’s why a few minor tweaks by Jerry Rosburg got these guys playing respectable football. If you bring in an all-new coaching staff, they’ll fire everyone and start from scratch, and you’ll get none of the benefits.
Thirty percent of the current roster will be new next season. That’s the average yearly turnover. That means 70 percent will remain the same. Who knows that 70 percent better — Harbaugh or Ejiro Evero? Evero or Payton?
The best coach on this staff has always been Ejiro Evero. The time for him to be an NFL head coach is now.
Evero led a top-10 Broncos defense that was the bright spot of this team all season. They had one bad game — the Christmas Day Massacre. Other than that, they came to play every week.
Players and coaches speak glowingly of Evero. Advanced football mind. Excellent communicator. Even temperament. Polished. Dynamic. Engaging. And the most common compliment he gets: “He’ll be a head coach someday. That’s for sure.”
Well, then, why not now? Why not here?
Because he hasn’t done it before? Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay and Mike Tomlin are all first-time head coaches in their current job. New York Giants first-year head coach Brian Daboll is in the playoffs this weekend. So is first-year Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel. Along with first year Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.
If we keep doing the opposite of the last thing that didn’t work, we risk missing the obvious thing that’s standing right in front of us. That obvious thing is Ejiro Evero.
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