When the Denver Broncos hired Vance Joseph as head coach, general manager John Elway stated that he would let Joseph select his own coaching staff. During The Afternoon Drive on Mile High Sports Radio, Les Shapiro pointed out that that wasn’t necessarily the case.
“It’s John Elway’s fingerprints that are all over this offense,” explained Shapiro. “When Vance Joseph says ‘I want an attacking, up-tempo offense,’ those are John Elway’s words coming out of Vance Joseph’s mouth.”
Shapiro asserts that it was Elway’s idea to bring in Mike McCoy and Bill Musgrave. Even though the Broncos won a Super Bowl less than a year ago, what Elway saw on offense was simply not good enough.
“John was disgusted by the offense that he saw the last two years; he wanted the offense to do what Wade Philips’ defense did,” said Shapiro. “He wanted guys in here who attacked. He is the one who said to Vance Joseph: ‘I want you to take a close look at the combination of Mike McCoy and Bill Musgrave.’”
Elway’s impact wasn’t limited to the offensive side of the ball either. The wheels may have been set in motion to make Joe Woods defensive coordinator before Vance Joseph was even hired.
“Well, before Vance Joseph was even hired, we were hearing whispers that Joe Woods was going to get promoted and Wade Phillips was gone,” said Shapiro. “Who do you think that was coming from? Couldn’t have been coming from Vance Joseph; he wasn’t here yet.”
Listen to the full segment with Eric Goodman and Shapiro, including why the Broncos didn’t go after a veteran head coach and something telling that Joseph himself told them, in the podcast below.
https://soundcloud.com/milehighsports/1-20-17-elway-getting-his-way-after-joseph-is-hired-is-that-why-he-was-the-guy
Catch Afternoon Drive with Goodman and Shapiro every weekday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.
