Could the Broncos coaching at the Senior Bowl serve a dual purpose?
Jan 4, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: 1:52 am
The Denver Broncos will have a unique, up-close perspective at this season’s Senior Bowl, as the organization announced Wednesday its staff will coach the North Team later this month in Mobile, Alabama.
General manager John Elway said the club “jumped at the opportunity” to participate in the all-star game that features select college seniors preparing for the NFL Draft this spring.
“On both the coaching and personnel sides, the experience gives us a chance to meet these prospects and get to know them on and off the field,” Elway said in news release.
Head coach Vance Joseph echoed a similar sentiment, saying the game provides “an up-close look at some of the top prospects in this year’s draft.”
“Having coached the Senior Bowl in the past, it’s a tremendous evaluation tool spending all week with these players in a variety of group and individual settings,” Joseph said.
“From the meeting rooms to the practice field, the Senior Bowl experience lets us see how these prospects work and prepare in a competitive environment.”
But could the game serve a dual purpose? Mike Pritchard, filling in on “Stokley & Zach” Wednesday, says yes.
“It also gives Vance Joseph more reps at head coach,” Pritchard said. “… Here you have, in January, fresh off the season, a chance to get more reps at the head coaching position. So, you get to coach your coaches.”
Coaching the coaches was something that Joseph specifically pointed to as an area of weakness during the club’s end of the season press conference on Tuesday, saying he failed to push the coaches to “make the proper changes” he thought could have helped the team.
“That was one of my shortcomings. Again, it’s a big job and it’s a job that you can get better at,” Joseph said. “I will get better at those things.”
Zach Bye, co-host for “Stokley & Zach,” said that though it will be a “diluted version” of what Joseph can expect in his second season, it’s still more practice for the young head coach.
“It’ll be a diluted version, but a version nonetheless,” Bye said, “where Vance can possibly apply some of these lessons that he learned in his first year and begin to apply in almost a preview of Year 2.”
In addition to the coaching staff, the Broncos will also provide its support staff — trainers, equipment managers, video and operations personnel, and its public relations team — during the Senior Bowl week.
It’s the seventh time the Broncos have been invited to participate in the Senior Bowl, with the last instance occurring in 1989.
The Houston Texans staff will coach the South Team, and practices in Mobile run Jan. 23-25.
The game, played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, will kick off for the 69th time on Jan. 27 at 12:30 p.m. MST and will be broadcast on NFL Network.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
