The Broncos’ search for a head coach is picking up steam.
Broncos executives interviewed their own first-year defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero in person on Tuesday, sources confirmed to The Post. On Monday, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh met virtually with the Broncos.
Harbaugh, 59, is one of the biggest names out there in this year’s coaching cycle. He recently finished his eighth season with the Wolverines, but now for a second straight winter is at least considering jumping back to the NFL. A year ago, he interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings but ended up returning to Michigan when he wasn’t offered the job.
The virtual interview with the Broncos would be his most substantial step so far this season toward a possible return to the NFL.
Evero’s interview wrapped up in the early afternoon Tuesday.
They are two of six known candidates for the job that used to belong to Nathaniel Hackett, one of Evero’s closest friends. According to league sources, the four others Denver has requested to interview: Former New Orleans head coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinators Dan Quinn (Dallas), DeMeco Ryans (San Francisco) and Raheem Morris (Los Angeles Rams).
NFL interview rules prevent that quartet from interviewing in person until next week because they — including Payton, who is under contract through 2024 — are currently employed by other league franchises.
The group has a variety of experiences and skill sets, but Harbaugh and Payton are clearly the biggest names.
“I watched him as a player and I admired him greatly as a player because he’s so competitive and the fire he has just comes naturally to him because he’s been involved in football his whole life,” Denver interim head coach Jerry Rosburg of Harbaugh said last week. “His father has the same fire in his belly, as does his brother John.
“That’s followed through with his coaching career, seeing the success he’s had at every level (of NFL and college).”
Harbaugh has succeeded at both levels. He’s 25-3 over his past two seasons at Michigan, where he makes about $8 million per year. When he arrived in San Francisco, the 49ers had gone eight consecutive seasons without a winning record. Harbaugh guided them to the NFC title game his first year, a Super Bowl loss his second year and another NFC title game appearance in Year 3.
His record in San Francisco before taking the Michigan job ahead of the 2015 season: 44-19-1.
Interestingly, he had Evero on his staff all four seasons with the 49ers.
“The thing about him is he’s going to impress change on people,” Evero said recently of Harbaugh. “Wherever he goes, he’s going to affect change. I don’t know if everyone will always like it, but thatap his personality.
“He’s a heck of a coach. I really enjoyed my time with him and he does a good job.”
Evero, too, did excellent work in his first year as an NFL coordinator.
There’s perhaps no better way to gauge the impact Evero had on the Broncos than by the way players rave about his leadership and football acumen.
“He’s the best,” inside linebacker Alex Singleton said. “How he knows football and understands football is bar none, and then the way he understands each player and being able to use their abilities to fit into the scheme and tweaking it. Itap a communication back and forth, so he’s able to use the scheme that he wants to run, but then with the players he has is able to adjust it based off them and I think thatap whatap most special about him.”
Multiple players said in the locker room after Denver finished the season with a win against the Los Angeles Chargers that they hoped to get to play for Evero again next year and that retaining him in some capacity would make Denver a more attractive option for defensive players.
Several of them, too, are sure any NFL team talks with him will see what they see every day. Houston and Indianapolis have also both asked permission to interview Evero for their head coaching openings, according to a league source.
“He’ll interview well and be very impressive,” veteran safety Kareem Jackson said. “It’ll be exciting to see where he lands and what happens if he doesn’t end up here and depending on who gets hired here.”
Evero has only been a coordinator for a year, but he’s got a long list of NFL experience at this point. He’s been on an NFL staff all but one year since 2007 and has learned from some of the NFL’s best defensive minds. He’s spent time on coaching staffs with Fangio, Raheem Morris (another coach the Broncos asked to interview about their job), Wade Phillips and Monte Kiffin.
He also spent four seasons working with Harbaugh in San Francisco from 2011-14.
Evero told reporters recently that he’s “as ready as you can be,” to take on a head-coaching job but that the “honest truth” is you’re never actually prepared until you’ve done the job.
“You just kind of figure it out,” he said.
