ENGLEWOOD
Phillip Lindsay Jersey White , Colo. (AP) — New Broncos coach Vic Fangio isn’t just bringing his defensive philosophies from Chicago. He plucked outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley off the Bears‘ staff for a similar role in Denver, and then brought secondary coach Ed Donatell over to serve as his defensive coordinator.Donatell has spent the last four seasons as the Bears’ defensive backs coach, coinciding with Fangio’s stint as Chicago’s defensive coordinator before his hiring in Denver last week. He spent the four seasons before that doing the same for Fangio in San Francisco.A former defensive coordinator in Green Bay and Atlanta, Donatell has twice coached the secondary in Denver, first for Mike Shanahan from 1995 to 1999 and again for Josh McDaniels in 2000.“Ed’s been an integral part of top-10 defenses for six of the last eight seasons in two different places, and he’s a great fit to be our defensive coordinator,” Fangio said Tuesday night. “Having worked very closely with him for a number of years, Ed has a strong understanding of the entire defense from the front end to the back end with the defensive backs being his specialty.“He’s a very good teacher and believes in the fundamentals in the classroom and on the field.”Fangio, however, will make the defensive play calls himself.“They hired me because of my work on the defensive side of the ball. I’m going to give them my work on the defensive side of the ball,” Fangio said last week. “I believe, for the most part, I’m pretty good at it.”Fangio also was interviewing 49ers QBs coach Rich Scangarello on Tuesday about his offensive coordinator job after rebuffing Gary Kubiak , who joined the Minnesota Vikings as an assistant head coach and offensive adviser Monday.Scangarello (scain-guh-REL-oh) would seem a good fit for an offense that general manager John Elway declared needs to modernize to keep up with teams around the NFL who are all-in on the run-pass option, among other innovations.Staley, 36, goes from having Khalil Mack as his prized pupil to tutoring Broncos star Von Miller .Mack had 12 1/2 sacks and six forced fumbles in helping the Bears (12-5) qualify for the playoffs for the first time in eight years despite missing all of training camp before the Raiders traded him to Chicago just before opening weekend.Miller posted 14 1/2 sacks last year and teamed with rookie Bradley Chubb (12 sacks) to form the NFL’s most potent pass-rushing duo. Fangio and Elway have said they believe Miller can get even better.Playing with a lead would go a long way in that quest. The Broncos (6-10) were awful under offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave last year, punting on their opening drive in each of their last nine games.Neither Musgrave nor defensive coordinator Joe Woods will return in 2019. Special teams coordinator Tom McMahon is expected to have the same role when Fangio finalizes his coaching staff.The Broncos didn’t technically have an outside linebackers coach last year despite having three first-round picks at the position in Miller, Chubb and Shane Ray. Former Cowboys and Broncos star DeMarcus Ware was a volunteer coach for the edge rushers but he missed long stretches of the season while competing on “Dances with the Stars” last fall. Tony Gonzalez, the most accomplished tight end in NFL history, Ed Reed, Champ Bailey and London Fletcher are first-year eligible players among the 102 modern-era nominees for the class of 2019 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.Gonzalez retired in 2013 after 17 pro seasons in which he had 1,325 receptions, second to Jerry Rice on the career list. A college basketball and football star at California, he was drafted 13th overall by the Chiefs in 1997 and played a dozen seasons in Kansas City. Gonzalez spent his final five seasons with Atlanta, finishing with 111 touchdown catches and 15,127 yards receiving. He made six All-Pro teams and was a member of the all-decade team for 2000-10.Reed and Bailey were standout defensive backs for stout units. Reed played 11 seasons in Baltimore, three times leading the league in interceptions. Among his 64 career picks were returns for touchdowns of 106 and 107 yards. He made five All-Pro squads, was the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year
Womens Phillip Lindsay Jersey , and joined Gonzalez on the all-decade team. Reed won a Super Bowl in the 2012 season.Bailey began his career with Washington in 1999 as the seventh overall draft choice. He moved to Denver in 2004, and led the NFL in interceptions with 10 in 2006. Bailey, who also dabbled on offense, had 52 career picks, made three All-Pro teams and, yes, also was on the all-decade team of 2000-2010.Fletcher became a starting linebacker in St. Louis in 1999 and won a Super Bowl. A rare undrafted player to be nominated for the Hall of Fame, he missed only one start from 1999-2013 with the Rams, Bills and Redskins. Fletcher made four Pro Bowls and finished his career with 1,380 tackles, 23 interceptions and 39 sacks.Finalists from 2018 who are nominated again include running back Edgerrin James; wide receiver Isaac Bruce; offensive linemen Kevin Mawae, Steve Hutchinson, Alan Faneca and Tony Boselli; safety John Lynch; and cornerback Ty Law.The roster of nominees has 47 offensive players, 39 defensive players, five special teams players and 11 coaches. Among those coaches are Super Bowl champions Bill Cowher, Tom Flores, Mike Holmgren, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil.The modern-era nominees will be reduced to 25 semifinalists in November and, from there, to 15 finalists in January. A senior committee finalist, former Chiefs defensive back Johnny Robinson, and two finalists from the contributors category, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and former Cowboys executive and current NFL consultant Gil Brandt, also have been nominated.Voting by the 48-member Hall of Fame panel will be held Feb. 2, the day before the Super Bowl, in Atlanta. Inductions in the Canton, Ohio, shrine will be in early August.
ENGLEWOOD Phillip Lindsay Jersey White , Colo. (AP) — New Broncos coach Vic Fangio isn’t just bringing his defensive philosophies from Chicago. He plucked outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley off the Bears‘ staff for a similar role in Denver, and then brought secondary coach Ed Donatell over to serve as his defensive coordinator.Donatell has spent the last four seasons as the Bears’ defensive backs coach, coinciding with Fangio’s stint as Chicago’s defensive coordinator before his hiring in Denver last week. He spent the four seasons before that doing the same for Fangio in San Francisco.A former defensive coordinator in Green Bay and Atlanta, Donatell has twice coached the secondary in Denver, first for Mike Shanahan from 1995 to 1999 and again for Josh McDaniels in 2000.“Ed’s been an integral part of top-10 defenses for six of the last eight seasons in two different places, and he’s a great fit to be our defensive coordinator,” Fangio said Tuesday night. “Having worked very closely with him for a number of years, Ed has a strong understanding of the entire defense from the front end to the back end with the defensive backs being his specialty.“He’s a very good teacher and believes in the fundamentals in the classroom and on the field.”Fangio, however, will make the defensive play calls himself.“They hired me because of my work on the defensive side of the ball. I’m going to give them my work on the defensive side of the ball,” Fangio said last week. “I believe, for the most part, I’m pretty good at it.”Fangio also was interviewing 49ers QBs coach Rich Scangarello on Tuesday about his offensive coordinator job after rebuffing Gary Kubiak , who joined the Minnesota Vikings as an assistant head coach and offensive adviser Monday.Scangarello (scain-guh-REL-oh) would seem a good fit for an offense that general manager John Elway declared needs to modernize to keep up with teams around the NFL who are all-in on the run-pass option, among other innovations.Staley, 36, goes from having Khalil Mack as his prized pupil to tutoring Broncos star Von Miller .Mack had 12 1/2 sacks and six forced fumbles in helping the Bears (12-5) qualify for the playoffs for the first time in eight years despite missing all of training camp before the Raiders traded him to Chicago just before opening weekend.Miller posted 14 1/2 sacks last year and teamed with rookie Bradley Chubb (12 sacks) to form the NFL’s most potent pass-rushing duo. Fangio and Elway have said they believe Miller can get even better.Playing with a lead would go a long way in that quest. The Broncos (6-10) were awful under offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave last year, punting on their opening drive in each of their last nine games.Neither Musgrave nor defensive coordinator Joe Woods will return in 2019. Special teams coordinator Tom McMahon is expected to have the same role when Fangio finalizes his coaching staff.The Broncos didn’t technically have an outside linebackers coach last year despite having three first-round picks at the position in Miller, Chubb and Shane Ray. Former Cowboys and Broncos star DeMarcus Ware was a volunteer coach for the edge rushers but he missed long stretches of the season while competing on “Dances with the Stars” last fall. Tony Gonzalez, the most accomplished tight end in NFL history, Ed Reed, Champ Bailey and London Fletcher are first-year eligible players among the 102 modern-era nominees for the class of 2019 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.Gonzalez retired in 2013 after 17 pro seasons in which he had 1,325 receptions, second to Jerry Rice on the career list. A college basketball and football star at California, he was drafted 13th overall by the Chiefs in 1997 and played a dozen seasons in Kansas City. Gonzalez spent his final five seasons with Atlanta, finishing with 111 touchdown catches and 15,127 yards receiving. He made six All-Pro teams and was a member of the all-decade team for 2000-10.Reed and Bailey were standout defensive backs for stout units. Reed played 11 seasons in Baltimore, three times leading the league in interceptions. Among his 64 career picks were returns for touchdowns of 106 and 107 yards. He made five All-Pro squads, was the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year Womens Phillip Lindsay Jersey , and joined Gonzalez on the all-decade team. Reed won a Super Bowl in the 2012 season.Bailey began his career with Washington in 1999 as the seventh overall draft choice. He moved to Denver in 2004, and led the NFL in interceptions with 10 in 2006. Bailey, who also dabbled on offense, had 52 career picks, made three All-Pro teams and, yes, also was on the all-decade team of 2000-2010.Fletcher became a starting linebacker in St. Louis in 1999 and won a Super Bowl. A rare undrafted player to be nominated for the Hall of Fame, he missed only one start from 1999-2013 with the Rams, Bills and Redskins. Fletcher made four Pro Bowls and finished his career with 1,380 tackles, 23 interceptions and 39 sacks.Finalists from 2018 who are nominated again include running back Edgerrin James; wide receiver Isaac Bruce; offensive linemen Kevin Mawae, Steve Hutchinson, Alan Faneca and Tony Boselli; safety John Lynch; and cornerback Ty Law.The roster of nominees has 47 offensive players, 39 defensive players, five special teams players and 11 coaches. Among those coaches are Super Bowl champions Bill Cowher, Tom Flores, Mike Holmgren, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil.The modern-era nominees will be reduced to 25 semifinalists in November and, from there, to 15 finalists in January. A senior committee finalist, former Chiefs defensive back Johnny Robinson, and two finalists from the contributors category, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and former Cowboys executive and current NFL consultant Gil Brandt, also have been nominated.Voting by the 48-member Hall of Fame panel will be held Feb. 2, the day before the Super Bowl, in Atlanta. Inductions in the Canton, Ohio, shrine will be in early August.