The Denver Broncos are getting their staff poached

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has recalled a story in which he once had to explain to the ownership of the New Orleans Saints that it was actually a good thing when teams were trying to hire away coaches from his staff. When you need to be worried is when nobody around the NFL wants anyone you’ve got on staff.

I guess the Denver Broncos have nothing to worry about right now because there are a lot of coaches and executives being poached or pursued away from this current group.

Recently, Assistant General Manager Darren Mougey was hired away by the New York Jets to be the GM in New York alongside their new head coach Aaron Glenn, who is also a former Sean Payton protégé. The Jets also, at one point, interviewed Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph for their head coach position before deciding on Glenn.

Now, the Chicago Bears and their new head coach Ben Johnson have entered the fray in terms of possibly stealing from Denver’s coaching staff and front office…

Chicago Bears now targeting Broncos for potential assistant coaches

The Chicago Bears are obviously thrilled this offseason because after the debacle that was the end of the Matt Eberflus era, the Bears have ended up with arguably the best available coach on the market in Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson has declined numerous head coaching gigs in recent years before he took the job with the Bears here in 2025 where he will be coaching 2024 #1 overall pick Caleb Williams.

But he’s looking to potentially add to his staff with a Broncos flavor. Specifically, he’s looking to add Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle and possibly senior personnel executive David Shaw as his offensive coordinator.

Shaw has actually gotten a number of looks this offseason including some more head coaching interviews, and he’s one of the most well-respected people in football. It’s a huge reason why, a year after interviewing him for head coach, the Broncos actually ended up hiring Shaw anyway as a senior personnel executive where he identifies talent for the team from both the college ranks as well as the professional side.

Shaw has worked for the Broncos mostly remotely but obviously will come to Denver at times as well. Being the offensive coordinator in Chicago would seem to be a step down for Shaw because we would all assume that Johnson is going to call plays there, but it would be a massive step up for Doyle and a huge promotion for him.