Like it or not, Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler will report directly to a new set of bosses.
Jeremy Bates, Cutler’s personal favorite, is gone. And all of Broncoland already knows about how Josh McDaniels is replacing Mike Shanahan.
McDaniels, the Broncos’ new head coach, was about to complete the third of the three major parts to his first staff Saturday by bringing in Mike McCoy to become his new offensive coordinator, according to an NFL source.
McCoy had been the Carolina Panthers’ passing-game coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Once a deal with McCoy is finalized, Mc- Daniels will have all three of his coordinator positions filled. Last week, he hired Mike Nolan as defensive coordinator and Mike Priefer as special-teams coordinator.
McDaniels also hired receivers coach Adam Gase and continued to work toward hiring Ed Donatell as secondary coach, according to NFL sources.
Gase, 30, replaces Jedd Fisch as mentor to Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall, who gave the Broncos one of the NFL’s top receiving duos in 2008. Gase was groomed the past two years by renowned offensive guru Mike Martz. This past season, Gase and Martz were offensive coaches for Nolan, who was the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach until he was fired after the seventh game.
Donatell, 51, is expected to coach the Broncos’ secondary. It’s the same position Donatell coached here from 1995-99 on Mike Shanahan’s staff. He spent the next seven seasons (2000-06) as defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. Last season, Donatell was defensive coordinator for the University of Washington.
To date, Denver’s assistant coaches are Nolan, Donatell, McCoy, Priefer, Gase, Rick Dennison (offensive line), Bobby Turner (running backs) and Rich Tuten (strength and conditioning).
With Dennison moving from offensive coordinator to offensive line coach and the Broncos not retaining Bates, who served as quarterbacks coach last season, McDaniels needed a new offensive coordinator.
McCoy, a Broncos’ undrafted free-agent quarterback who attended Shanahan’s first training camp in 1995, has spent his entire nine-year NFL coaching career with the Panthers. McCoy will help put together the weekly offensive game plan, but McDaniels will call the plays on Sunday.
D.J. update.
Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams will have shoulder surgery Monday. Meanwhile, his younger brother, Worrell Williams, an inside linebacker from Cal, has secured his big brother’s agent, Troy Fleming. Worrell Williams is projected to go from the third to fifth round in the upcoming draft.
Question is: Will big brother again play his little brother’s position of inside linebacker? D.J. Williams played strongside linebacker in 2006, middle linebacker in 2007 and his natural weakside linebacker position in 2008.
As the Broncos phase in a conversion to the 3-4 defense this year, the versatility D.J. Williams has already demonstrated could make him a candidate to move back to the inside. The Broncos are expected to allow middle linebacker Nate Webster to become a free agent, leaving their current roster with far more starting outside linebackers (Jamie Winborn, Boss Bailey, Wesley Woodyard and Williams) than inside backers (Spencer Larsen and Niko Koutouvides, both of whom are reserves).
