After an offseason that was filled with optimism, the Denver Broncos have fallen well short of their expectations for the 2023 season so far in their first year with Sean Payton as their head coach.
Heading into Week 6, the Broncos are currently sitting with a 1-4 record, and it’s likely going to drop to 1-5 after a difficult matchup on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
Would things be going differently for Denver this season if Payton wasn’t their head coach?
It’s difficult to say, but ESPN’s Ed Werder believes one of the Broncos’ biggest mistakes in the history of the franchise was not hiring Kyle Shanahan to be their head coach during the 2017 offseason.
The #Broncos have made many mistakes in recent years. Failing to hire Kyle Shanahan as head coach was among the very worst.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) October 12, 2023
Shanahan is the current head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, and he has been since he was hired by the franchise back in 2017.
During his tenure with the 49ers, he’s led the team to three appearances in the NFC Championship and one trip to the Super Bowl.
This season, Shanahan has San Francisco off to a blazing-fast start, with wins in each of their first five games.
Shanahan is, of course, the son of former Denver head coach Mike Shanahan, who led the franchise to their first two Super Bowl wins in team history.
Hiring Kyle back in 2017 seemed like an easy choice for the Broncos to make, but they went with former Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph instead.
Since that decision, Denver has won just 35 percent of their games, they’ve failed to reach the playoffs, and Payton is the third head coach they’ve had in the last three seasons.
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