The Denver Broncos have lost two of their top defensive assistant coaches this week to other teams. As the team gears up for their offseason plan for next season, they’ll have to add two new coaches to their staff.
Denver Broncos lose another key defensive assistant
Earlier this week the Denver Broncos lost defensive backs coach Christian Parker to the Philadelphia Eagles. Now they’re losing another key defensive assistant as defensive line coach Marcus Dixon is heading to the Minnesota Vikings.
Both Parker and Dixon were the only two holdovers from Nathaniel Hackett’s staff from 2022 and are highly regarded in league circles and both are receiving opportunities to grow even further.
Denver could have blocked both coaches from being able to interview with the Eagles and Vikings, but Sean Payton allowed them the chance to seek new opportunity.
Dixon came over to the Broncos initially from the Super Bowl winning Los Angeles Rams and made an instant impact coaching the team’s defensive line. Under his coaching, Dre’Mont Jones and D.J. Jones had impactful seasons in 2022.
He’s also helped aid in the positive development of players like Elijah Garcia, Matt Henningsen, and other players like Jordan Jackson. Dixon helped the Broncos defensive line form the identity of ‘The Dark Side’ where the mentality of the unit is to remove the happy-go-lucky approach on gameday and play loose and mean.
“It’s something that [Defensive Line] Coach [Marcus] Dixon created for our defensive unit, mainly the D-line,” D.J. Jones said. “It’s something we break down [with] and something we live by now. You have to go into a dark place when you step onto that field, so it’s Darkside forever.”
Now the Broncos defensive line will more than likely have a new coach come on board, and the options right now are unclear. Regardless of who the coach is, they’ll have to help the Broncos defensive line see a jump in production on the interior.
Jones and Zach Allen are the only two starters projected to return in 2024, while the team will have to make decisions on Jonathan Harris and Mike Purcell in free agency.
