Coach Josh McDaniels made several additions this week to the coaching staff.
I previously talked about Mike Nolan being added to the staff as Defensive Coordinator and the retention of Bobby Turner and Rick Dennison at running backs coach and offensive line coach.
The new additions are:
Mike McCoy – Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach
Coach McCoy joins Denver after spending the last 9 seasons with the Carolina Panthers. While Jeremy Bates and Jay Cutler had a great relationship, I think this could be a great move in Cutler’s development. McCoy was fantastic in working with Jake Delhomme in Carolina and using the vertical passing game.
Ed Donatell – Secondary Coach
Coach Donatell has had a ton of experience and most recently was with the University of Washington football team in 2008. Prior to that he has worked with the New york Jets, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos (he was a part of the 2 Super Bowl victories as secondary coach). He seems to have a knack for developing pro-bowl caliber players and should make good use of the talent Denver has at the corner back position.
Wayne Nunnely – Defensive Line Coach
This is an exciting pickup in my opinion, then again taking something from a divisional rival that is valuable makes me love it more. Coach Nunnely comes to the Broncos after serving 12 seasons as the defensive line coach for the San Diego Chargers. He consistently led the Chargers to a top 10 ranking in rushing yards per game and per carry against. Prior to San Diego he was in New Orleans for 2 seasons. I like this signing because he is familiar with a 3 – 4 line, and with coach Mike Nolan who traditionally runs a 3 – 4 they should make an excellent pairing.
Adam Gase – Wide Receivers Coach
Coach Gase is familiar with coach Mike Nolan as he was an assistant to him in San Francisco. He was also a quarterbacks coach in Detroit for 3 years.
Mike Priefer – Special Teams Coordinator
Coach Priefer joins the team after spending 3 seasons as the special teams coordinator for the divisional rival Kansas City Chiefs. He has spent time as a special teams assistant with the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars as well. Denver has sorely needed some help with special teams and talent did not appear to be the issue. Hopefully a new coach will inject some excitement into this part of the team.
Don Martindale – Linebackers Coach
Following the trend of taking quality coaches away from divisional rivals, coach Martindale joins Denver after serving as the linebackers coach for the hated Oakland Raiders over the last 5 seasons. He has a long history of experience, 23 years in total, including college and the NFL. As bad as Oakland has been lately, their defense has not been the issue and this should help bolster a Denver squad that needs a lot of defensive assistance. I am excited about this pickup.
Ben McDaniels – Coaching Assistant
Coach McDaniels is the younger brother of the head coach McDaniels. This will be his first season coaching in the NFL and prior to this he was a quarterbacks coach for a high school program and a graduate assistant for the University of Minnesota. the jury is out I guess, but I am sure it is just an opportunity to get some experience.
Jay Rodgers – Coaching Assistant
Last but not least is coach Rodgers. He will also be developing in his first NFL season after having a lot of experience at the collegiate level. Again, good experience for him but otherwise I cannot say much in the way of what I think at this point.
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