The Broncos’ coaching search rolled west Thursday when general manager , president/CEO Joe Ellis and other executives spent the afternoon and early evening in the Los Angeles area to interview Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor.
Because the Rams are still in-season, the Broncos traveled to meet Taylor, but because the Rams have a first-round NFC playoff bye, Taylor was available.
Rams coach Sean McVay’s success — two NFC West titles in as many years — has raised the profile of his offensive staff. Last year, offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, who didn’t call the plays, was hired to run the ’ offense.
Taylor has generated interested despite a resume that is without head-coaching experience and thin on play-calling chops. He reportedly has an interview with the also lined up.
In the regular season, the Rams ranked second in yards, third in rushing, fifth in passing and second in points per game.
The big questions: Why Zac Taylor? Why interview a candidate who has five games of NFL interim coordinator experience?
From the Thinking Out Loud Dept. …
The Broncos aren’t as committed to becoming their offensive coordinator/play-caller as the current public assumption. He will have a role in the front office and serve as a seasoned set of eyes to help the new staff. That would allow the Broncos to possibly pair Taylor as coordinator with one of the other known head coaching candidates (Chuck Pagano, Vic Fangio, Brian Flores or Mike Munchak), none of whom has been an NFL offensive play-caller.
If that is the motive for interviewing Taylor, the Broncos’ chat with him could be to hear out his vision for a playbook, how he would innovate a stagnant attack, what his offensive staff would look like and how open he is to working for any of the aforementioned candidates.
Under Taylor’s watch this year, quarterback Jared Goff had 32 touchdowns (tied for sixth), 12 interceptions and a 101.1 passer rating (eighth-best).
“Zac has been awesome,” Goff told Los Angeles-area reporters on Wednesday. “Zac’s been really good for me and our whole quarterback room. Just everything he brings to the table, the fact that he played quarterback — there’s certain things that he understands that people (who) didn’t won’t. Thatap helpful for me.
“His demeanor, the way he communicates, the way he teaches, I think is incredible. He’s been great for me.”
Taylor was in the camps of Tampa Bay and the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2007 before starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M, where the head coach was Mike Sherman, who is Taylor’s father-in-law.
Sherman joined the in 2012 as offensive coordinator and brought Taylor with him. Taylor was assistant quarterbacks coach in 2012 and quarterbacks coach from 2013-15.
Notable about Taylor’s time with the Dolphins was how it finished.
Coach Joe Philbin was fired after four games and replaced by tight ends coach Dan Campbell. After the Dolphins threw 58 passes and rushed only nine times in a loss to the , Campbell fired play-caller Bill Lazor and promoted Taylor with five games remaining. Under Taylor, the Dolphins went 2-3 and averaged 17 points and 322.4 yards per game.
Not retained by new Dolphins coach Adam Gase, Taylor returned to the college ranks for a year as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for Cincinnati. The Bearcats went 4-8 and coach Tommy Tuberville resigned. Cincinnati lost its final four games, including a four-game stretch where it averaged only 6.5 points per week.
McVay and Taylor had not worked together until last year with the Rams. Taylor was assistant receivers coach last year before moving to quarterbacks coach.
Earlier this year, McVay told reporters Taylor, “doesn’t just agree with everything, he challenges you but in a way thatap very welcoming. Sometimes in the NFL, disagreements can be uncomfortable in a staff meeting, but not here. There’s a refreshing security that Zac has in himself. He has great emotional intelligence and awareness for how to communicate in a way that makes peoples’ guards go down. Thatap a great trait for a coach to have.”
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