If you were to enter “Broncos” yesterday on social media or Google your feed would have been full with news that John Elway tried to bring Mike Shanahan back into the fold last year. Reports differ Justin Hollins Denver Broncos Jersey , but the gist is that the team’s CEO and President Joe Ellis nixed it. That and the way the Vance Joseph era is going out with a whimper got me wondering: with the way the Broncos ownership situation and apparent power struggle between Ellis and Elway has come into the spotlight, what coaching candidates will seriously consider a vacated head coaching gig next year? There are mitigating circumstances, but Denver has had 4 coaches in 6 years if they go to hire a new one next year. That combined with a number of openings around the league means that Elway could have a hard time picking up his top choice.Unless it was Mike Shanahan. We had quite the discussion about this among the MHR crew yesterday. I went into it as Switzerland. I was neither for, nor against Shanahan. With John Harbaugh all but assured another year with the Ravens I was leaning towards Adam Gase or someone like Matt LaFleur, but the more I thought about it; perhaps Shanny makes sense.The Broncos need work on the offensive side of the ball, but do have the tools to run the patented zone run scheme made popular by Kubiak and Shanahan. Remember those rumors that Kubes wanted to be an Offensive Coordinator? He may not need to go too far to do it. Elway is almost certain to draft a new franchise QB in the draft next year and it’s best for the team’s long term viability to find a coaching staff that will aid in his development. I personally believe Paxton Lynch wasn’t ever going to succeed, but he didn’t seem to get much help from the Mike McCoy/Bill Musgraves staff in 2017. The Kubiak/Shanny system made chicken sandwiches out of Brian Griese and Jake Plummer. Jay Cutler went to the Pro Bowl in Shanahan’s last season. There’s reason to believe Shanny would find a way to rebuild the receiving corps if Emmanuel Sanders can’t return to health next year. There would be questions, obviously. Denver’s defense is in a great spot with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb up front, but will need a new defensive coordinator if Joseph and Woods are canned. Shanahan’s tenure ended because his defense became a complete albatross. He’d really need someone to come in and essentially lead that side of the ball. The other looming concern is the dynamic between Shanahan and Elway. There have been multiple rumors over the years about their icy relationship. How long would the two make things work in a reunion special? Would winning keep all the egos in check?On to your Broncos linksNFL coaching hot seat: Steve Wilks, Doug Marrone, Vance Joseph | SI.comWoody Paige: Secret meetings between John Elway, Mike Shanahan nearly led to far different coaching, QB outcome for Broncos | Premium | gazette.comFrom the horses mouth.Broncos GM John Elway tried to hire Mike Shanahan; Joe Ellis blocked it - Mile High ReportJohn Elway Justin Hollins Denver Broncos Jersey , Mike Shanahan met about Shanahan Broncos returnBroncos Fans on Blame John Elway Deserves for Browns Loss, Bad Season | WestwordReport: John Elway considered firing Vance Joseph, hiring Mike Shanahan – ProFootballTalkVance Joseph: Broncos coaching talks ‘not my concern’ - NFL.comShane Ray found late notice he’d be inactive “disrespectful” – ProFootballTalk2019 NFL Draft: Justin Herbert top QB on Big Board | SI.comLedyard’s Mock Draft 4.0 - Page 2 of 4 - The Draft Network-ICYMI-Denver Broncos: 5 things we learned from loss to the Cleveland Browns - Mile High ReportCleveland Browns at Denver Broncos final score: Mayfield smolders, but Chubb rocks it - Mile High ReportDenver Broncos 5 winners, 3 losers in 17-16 loss to Cleveland Browns - Mile High ReportVon Miller breaks Simon Fletcher’s all-time Denver Broncos sack record - Mile High ReportDenver Broncos: Case Keenum and the offense has been figured out - Mile High ReportFixing The Denver Broncos: 2019 Offseason Plan - The Draft NetworkA look around the rest of the WestKansas City Chiefs could clinch AFC West and a bye on Sunday - Arrowhead PrideThe Kansas City Chiefs will go as far as Patrick Mahomes can carry themPatrick Mahomes is reportedly planning a cereal called “Patty Flakes” - Arrowhead PrideAnthony Lynn has lifted the Chargers curse - Bolts From The BlueChargers can no longer be overlooked as Super Bowl contender | News, Sports, Jobs - Minot Daily NewsDid the win over Chiefs solidify Chargers’ Anthony Lynn as Coach of the Year?Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon expected to return in week 16 - Bolts From The BlueRaiders’ Jon Gruden and Derek Carr react to loss | The Fresno BeeThe other NFL news worth knowingWhat we learned from Sunday’s Week 15 games - NFL.com2018 NFL AFC, NFC playoff picture - Bracket, schedule, Super Bowl matchups through Week 15NFL Week 15: A Wild Ride Through the Playoff Picture | SI.comNick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles beat Los Angeles RamsMcVay on Rams’ woes: We’ve got to ‘figure it out fast’ - NFL.comNick Foles to start Week 16; Wentz won’t go on IR - NFL.comThe NFL’s biggest surprises, and teams and players who could copy them in 2019Logan Ryan will miss the rest of the season after breaking leg – ProFootballTalkLamar Jackson running the ball more often than any other quarterback, ever – ProFootballTalkShaquill Griffin takes issue with ‘terrible call’ that cost Seattle Seahawks in OT loss to San Francisco 49ersStuds & Duds: Upset City - The Draft NetworkSaints survive slugfest Justin Hollins Jersey 2019 , crush Panthers’ playoff hopes - NFL.comSean Payton, Drew Brees of New Orleans Saints now No. 2 in wins among coach/quarterback duosReport: Steve Wilks’ firing “seems a foregone conclusion” – ProFootballTalkRex Ryan Explains Patriots’ Troubles: Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski ‘Older, Slower’ | New England Patriots | NESN.comTom Brady on red-zone INT: ‘It shouldn’t happen’ - NFL.comClosing the Books on a Snake Bit SeasonBears LT Charles Leno proposes to his girlfriend on field after clinching NFC North - NFL VideosBuffalo Bills QB Josh Allen’s latest chapter is his best to dateDid the Broncos er in passing on Allen?Was Vance Joseph a good defensive back coach? Through three games this season our once-vaunted secondary has fallen far. We are currently 25th in the league in completion % allowed, 18th in TD% (% of throws that result in a TD), tied for 14th in interception % (% of throws that we intercept) and 23rd in QB Rating allowed (we are allowing a QB rating of 102.2). While I know that Vance Joseph is not the defensive coordinator or the defensive backs coach, the question was raised in the snap count post as to whether or not Vance Joseph was a good DB coach in the NFL. So I went looking for data to determine an answer to this question. I looked at league rank in completion % allowed, passing TDs allowed, passes intercepted and QB rating allowed for all of the defensive backfields that he coached (directly or indirectly) during his time as an NFL assistant. Below is the data - with league rank in the four right-hand columns.So his defensive backfield stunk while he was the DB coach in San Francisco. He had an elite unit for his first two seasons in Houston that faded badly in 2013. He defensive backfield in Cincy was one of the best units in the league for his two seasons there. When he ascended to the defensive coordinator role with the Dolphins for the 2016 season, his defensive backfield was average. My conclusion from looking at the data is that Vance Joseph can be a very effective DB coach. If we were to apply this same method to Joe Woods, I’m guessing that we wood get a similar result set (but I did not pull those numbers together) - I might be talked into doing that in the comments section though. All data is from www.NFL.com and/or www.pro-football-reference.com.