When the Broncos say they’re like family, they’re not kidding.
Jim Goodman, who heads the Broncos’ football operations department, has his son Jeff as assistant general manager and right-hand man. Josh McDaniels, who is the Broncos’ head coach, just hired his younger brother Ben to be part of his coaching staff, if at an entry-level position.
Nepotism always raises eyebrows, especially by those who were defeated by a superior’s relative for a particular position. It’s difficult to know where to draw the line on preferential treatment, unless you’re the San Diego Chargers. The franchise bosses allowed head coach Marty Schottenheimer to hire his son Brian as quarterbacks coach. But Marty was fired after a 14-2 season in 2006 in part because he insisted on hiring his brother Kevin to become the team’s new defensive coordinator.
Jeff Goodman has decided it’s best to deal with the patronage issue directly.
“In this business, there’s a lot of people who get breaks because of who they know,” he said. “Whether it’s friends, whether it’s family, whether it’s somebody you coached with, whether you played with the organization before you got hired there. There’s always a way to get your foot in the door. What you do with it at that point, you’re competency will show in the end. Whether your last name is Goodman or Smith, you better be competent in what you do because people will figure out if you don’t know what you’re talking and it will show in the long run.”
People don’t usually look at it this way, but perhaps there’s no greater objective credential than being related to someone in a particular field of expertise. It’s safe to presume Rex Ryan never would have grown up to become head coach of the New York Jets if his dad wasn’t Buddy.
Josh McDaniels may have the No. 1 coaching job in Colorado, but people in Ohio may argue he’s not even the best coach in his family. McDaniels is where he is today because his father, Thom, is an Ohio high school coaching legend.
As for the Goodmans, go back and review the 2008 draft and see if family favors hurt the Broncos.
“I’m very proud of Jeff,” Jim Goodman said. “I was proud of him as a student in high school. I was a proud of him as a student-athlete in Florida and I was proud of him in law school. Jeff is one of those people who could have been perfectly happy as an attorney. He was with a good law firm in Alabama. But he’s like a lot of young men who want to make a living in football.”
Looking back. Yes, Mike Shanahan did make some mistakes here. One of biggest: Letting go of Trevor Pryce following the Broncos’ 13-3 season in 2005.
It can be safely concluded it worked out better for Pryce in the three seasons since he was released by Broncos than it did for the Broncos without Pryce.
In his two healthy seasons in Baltimore, Pryce combined for 17-1/2 sacks and the Ravens reached the playoffs each time with a combined 24-7 record. When he played in just five games in 2007, the Ravens went 5-11.
The Broncos, meanwhile, have yet to make the playoffs without Pryce, who was simply their best defensive lineman in the past decade. Pryce said there is also a palpable difference in locker-room chemistry between the teams.
“It’s a lot different,” he said last week. “It’s more of a all-for-one, one-for-all. It all starts with No. 52 (Ray Lewis). He sets the tone. I’ve played with many a great football player. I’ve seen none that lead by example the way he does.”
Familiarity. The Broncos lost a quality tight ends coach in Pat McPherson, who wasn’t retained by McDaniels. But the Broncos’ new tight ends coach, Clancy Barone, knew from his evaluating tasks elsewhere that his position isn’t exactly dry with talent.
“I remember Tony Scheffler when he was coming out of college and I was with the Falcons and I was trying to get us to draft him,” Barone said. “The Broncos just got him before we could get to him. And Daniel Graham, I remember when he became available for free agency, we had to evaluate all the guys who were out their at our position, and he’s a guy who I thought was very, very powerful and tough at the point of attack and athletic. They’re two guys who I have had a lot of respect for over the years, and now I get a chance to coach them.”
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
