Broncos Briefs: Wade Harman Hired As TE Coach; Zach Azzanni, Curtis Modkins Set to Return by Ryan O’Halloran the Denver Post January 18, 2019
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Broncos Briefs: Wade Harman hired as TE coach; Zach Azzanni, Curtis Modkins set to return By Ryan O’Halloran The Denver Post January 18, 2019 The Broncos continued reshaping their staff of assistant coaches Thursday by hiring Wade Harman as tight ends coach and Renaldo Hill as defensive backs coach. Harman, 55, has been in the NFL since 1997 and was most recently the Atlanta Falcons’ tight ends coach. In 2015, he was on the same staff as new Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello. Harman replaces Geep Chryst, who was with the Broncos for two years. Hill, 40, finished his playing career with the Broncos in July 2011 and was most recently the Miami Dolphins’ assistant defensive backs coach. Also, receivers coach Zach Azzanni announced on Twitter that he had been retained by coach Vic Fangio. Running backs coach Curtis Modkins is also expected to return after joining the Broncos last year, according to a league source. Harman spent two years with Minnesota (coaching assistant) and 15 years with Baltimore (tight ends coach) before joining the Falcons as offensive line coach for one year and then tight ends coach for four years. Harman was a coach on two Super Bowl winning teams while on the Ravens’ staff and coached Shannon Sharpe, Todd Heap, Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson, among others. For the Falcons in 2018, tight end Austin Hooper was second on the team with 71 catches. Harman joins a Broncos tight end group that was decimated by injuries. In order, Troy Fumagalli (groin), Jake Butt (torn ACL) and starter Jeff Heuerman (ribs/lung) were all lost before or during the season. Heuerman will be a free agent in March. Hill played at Michigan State and was a seventh-round pick by Arizona in 2001. He played for the Cardinals, Oakland, Miami and the Broncos. He appeared in 141 NFL games (114 starts) and had 19 interceptions. With the Broncos in 2009-10, Hill played for Ed Donatell, who returned to the organization this week as defensive coordinator. Hill started his coaching career at Wyoming (graduate assistant) before moving to the University of Pittsburgh (three years) and the Dolphins. Azzanni led a young receivers group that included first-year players Courtland Sutton (42 catches), DaeSean Hamilton (30 catches) and Tim Patrick (23 catches). Following the trade of Demaryius Thomas and the Achilles injury to Emmanuel Sanders, the Broncos’ top four receivers were all first-year players. Modkins also coached a young group, led by rookie Pro Bowler Phillip Lindsay (1,037 yards) and third- round pick Royce Freeman (521 yards). With Harman on board and Azzanni and Modkins set to return, that leaves quarterbacks coach as the last remaining piece. Mike Sullivan coached the position in 2018. Fangio honored. Fangio was honored named Assistant Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association for his work as the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator. The Bears won the NFC North and led the league in fewest points allowed (17.7) and most takeaways (37) and interceptions (27). Bears coach Matt Nagy was named Coach of the Year and Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard was Executive of the Year. Footnotes. Former Broncos coach Vance Joseph was hired last week as the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator and has brought two of his former assistants with him. Marcus Robertson and Greg Williams will coach the Cardinals’ secondary. … Replaced by Scangarello, now-former Broncos offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave will not have a role moving forward and has left the organization. Deandre Baker to the Broncos? Mel Kiper Jr. has Denver selecting Georgia CB in NFL mock draft. By Joe Nguyen The Denver Post January 18, 2019 ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. on Thursday unveiled his first predictions for the 2019 NFL draft and he has the Broncos selecting Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker with the 10th overall pick. “Cornerback is the No. 1 need for the Broncos,” Kiper writes. “Baker isn’t far behind Greedy Williams as the top corner in this class.” Denver’s once-vaunted “No Fly Zone” took hits last year, first with cornerback Aqib Talib being traded to the Rams before the season, followed by numerous injuries, including a broken leg suffered by All-Pro corner Chris Harris Jr. Kiper notes that Harris’ age — he turns 30 in June — and Bradley Roby becoming a free agent makes the position a priority for the Broncos. “John Elway hit on his 2018 draft class, and he needs another good one to get the team back on track under new coach Vic Fangio,” Kiper writes. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Baker was a consensus All-American last season. In four seasons with the Bulldogs, he tallied seven interceptions. Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa is predicted to go No. 1 overall to the Arizona Cardinals. As for quarterbacks, Kiper has Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins going to the Giants at No. 6, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray to the Dolphins at No. 13, and Duke’s Daniel Jones to the Patriots at No. 29. The NFL draft takes place April 25-27 in Nashville, Tenn. Broncos to interview Chris Kuper for coaching position, hire Renaldo Hill, Wade Harman By Mike Klis 9 News January 18, 2019 A couple hours after Rich Scangarello was named the Broncos’ new offensive coordinator, word came he was bringing in his own tight ends coach. It turned out to be Wade Harman, who has coached NFL tight ends for 19 years, including the 2015 Atlanta Falcons whose offensive staff included Kyle Shanahan, Matt and Mike LaFleur, Mike McDaniel and a quality control coach named Rich Scangarello. Matt LaFleur is now head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Kyle Shanahan is head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, and Mike LaFleur, McDaniel and Scangarello were part of Shanahan’s staff until Scangarello branched off to Denver. Harman, 55, has coached the tight end likes of Shannon Sharpe, Todd Heap, Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson in Baltimore and Austin Hooper in Atlanta. Harman also won two Super Bowl rings while coaching for the Ravens. The Broncos also turned to a couple of their former players to help fill out their coaching staff. The team hired Renaldo Hill to serve as their defensive backs coach. Hill was a Broncos’ starting safety alongside Brian Dawkins during the Josh McDaniels’ era from 2009-10. Hill will work alongisde Ed Donatell, the Broncos' new defensive coordinator who will run the secondary. Vic Fangio will double as the Broncos' new head coach who will also serve as the defensive coordinator. Hill coached last season for the Miami Dolphins under head coach Adam Gase. So did Chris Kuper, another former Broncos’ starter turned coach. The Broncos will interview Kuper for their assistant offensive line coach early next week. Kuper was part of the Broncos’ terrific 2006 draft class that also included Jay Cutler, Elvis Dumervil, receiver Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler. Kuper, 36, was a starting guard five full seasons until a dislocated ankle shortened his career. He has spent the past three seasons working his way up the coaching chain. Broncos long snapper Casey Kreiter named to Pro Bowl By Alexander Kirk 9 News January 18, 2019 Denver Broncos long snapper Casey Kreiter is headed to Orlando. The third-year long snapper has been named to the 2019 Pro Bowl, the NFL announced on Wednesday. Kreiter joins linebacker Von Miller and running back Phillip Lindsay as Pro Bowl selections for the Broncos. Bradley Chubb, Chris Harris Jr. and Emmanuel Sanders are Pro Bowl alternates. Kreiter is the first Broncos long snapper to earn a Pro Bowl selection. Kreiter played 16 games in 2018 and handled 146 snaps without an unplayable delivery. AFC (and Los Angeles Chargers) Head Coach Anthony Lynn chose Kreiter as a "need" player for the Pro Bowl roster. The 2019 Pro Bowl will be held on Sunday, Jan. 27 at Orlando's Camping World Stadium. Rich Scangarello heads to Denver — will a 49ers quarterback follow? By Matt Barrows The Athletic January 18, 2019 The 49ers were expecting to lose quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello to the Denver Broncos, and that’s exactly what happened Wednesday. After a two-day interview, the Broncos made him their new offensive coordinator. He’ll join a staff full of one-time 49ers assistants: Vic Fangio (head coach), Ed Donatell (defensive coordinator), Curtis Modkins (running backs coach) and Geep Chryst (tight ends coach). Some thoughts about the hire and how it affects — and reflects on — the 49ers: Who takes over as quarterbacks coach? The 49ers likely will move one of their current assistants to that spot, either Mike LaFleur, who has the title of wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator, or Mike McDaniel, who is the team’s run-game coordinator. If it’s LaFleur, McDaniel becomes a candidate to coach the wide receivers. He already spends the early part of practices with that group, working alongside LaFleur and special offensive assistant Katie Sowers. McDaniel also served one season each as wide receivers coach under Shanahan in Washington and in Cleveland. Why did Shanahan allow Scangarello to interview with other teams and not McDaniel and LeFleur? The Arizona Cardinals wanted to talk to McDaniel for their offensive coordinator spot. Other teams, including the Green Bay Packers, where Mike LaFleur’s brother, Matt, is the new head coach, wanted to interview LaFleur for offensive coordinator. Shanahan blocked both. For one, those would not have been true promotions. LaFleur and McDaniel are heavily involved in game- planning already with the 49ers, have “coordinator” in their job titles, but do not call plays.