Dizzying Broncos coaching search has become increasingly frustrating

What is going on?

That’s the most succinct and obvious way the question can be asked at this point.

What is going on with the Denver Broncos head-coaching search?

It’s been 36 days since the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group (WPFOG) fired the disastrous Nathaniel Hackett, and we’re seemingly no closer to finding out his replacement today than we were on Dec. 26. If you want a recap of all the twists and turns, you can check out our thorough and consistently updated coaching tracker, but that’s not what this is about.

This is about the most frustrating stretch of Broncos news, off the field, in a long time. There’s loads of information almost every day, and at least half of it is wrong. Anyone else feel like they just got off a roller coaster trying to dissect all of this stuff? I know I work in the industry so it’s probably amplified, but fans are frustrated as well.

Broncos Country wants and deserves answers about the process. There’s an alarming lack of credible info being delivered, with the team staying radio silent. That’s a far cry from the transparent way they handled things a year ago, releasing graphics when interviews were completed and an excellent behind-the-scenes video series.

One would guess the secrecy is a direct order from the top of the organization. Other employees, who are great at their jobs, have stayed around. CEO Greg Penner and the rest of the ownership group is what’s changed. Clearly they don’t want any leaks, so the Broncos aren’t giving us any.

That’s a fine way to conduct business, but it also makes people impatient. When folks get impatient, bad information tends to bubble to the surface. And a lot of is coming from top NFL reporters, men and women who have worked for years to build up credible reputations and trusted sources.

Is the door on Jim Harbaugh and the Broncos actually closed? One report says yes, another says no. It’s example after example of that nature that is driving fans insane. What to believe and who to believe has been turned upside down.

Maybe this will all work itself out and a grand plan will be revealed. When the hire is announced, it will make sense why everything had to be clouded in mystery. Or maybe, the WPFOG has been told “no” about the job more times than they care to admit, and is currently scrambling behind the scenes.

The first outcome would be preferred by a massive margin. When the WPFOG bought the team for $4.65 billion last summer, it was almost assuredly for life. One coaching hire won’t define their tenure, but it will dictate if the relationship between fans and ownership gets off on the right foot.

Hopefully, when the dust settles, everything will add up. The quiet nature of the search will come together, and reporters getting information wrong will be their own faults. If it’s the other option, and things just went horribly awry, the rejection of top-tier coaching candidates may sting for a long, long time.

This is a franchise with a proud history of winning, but a recent history of stinking. The WPFOG was supposed to fix that, with a lot of issues from the last seven seasons getting blamed on the trust running the team after Pat Bowlen had to step away. Not all of that was fair or warranted, but Joe Ellis and company certainly could have done some things better.

So now, we wait. We’ve gotten good at waiting through the month of January, so what’s just a little bit longer? Perhaps all of our questions will be answered — or perhaps some nightmares will be realized.

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