Pittsburgh Steelers senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach Brian Flores is listed as one of the betting favorites to become the next head coach of the Denver Broncos, which fired Nathaniel Hackett on Monday.
Flores is listed as 18-1 to become the next head coach of the Broncos, according to odds posted by Sportsbetting.ag. Other possible hires with ties to the Steelers are former Pittsburgh quarterback and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich (16-1) and former Steelers head coach and CBS analyst Bill Cowher (66-1).
Hackett was fired a day after the Broncos lost, 51-14, to the Los Angeles Rams. Denver is 4-11 on the year after entering the schedule with high hopes.
The Steelers added Brian Flores to their staff in February of this year, a little over a month after he was let go of by Miami, where he served as the Dolphins’ head coach for three go-rounds. He interviewed with the New York Giants, Houston Texans, and New Orleans Saints after being fired, then filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three teams for hiring practices.
Flores, known primarily for his prowess on the defensive side, steered a Miami defense that ranked first in takeaways in 2020. The Dolphins rating within the top 10 in the same category the next year. Denver’s defense has been stout this season, grading out within the top 10 in points allowed and yards allowed.
Former New Orleans Saints head coach and current FOX NFL analyst Sean Payton tops the list with 4-1 odds, while Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn follows at 5-1. Jim Caldwell (6-1), Shane Steichen (7-1), DeMeco Ryans (8-1), Eric Bieniemy (9-1), Frank Reich (9-1), Kellen Moore (10-1), are also in that group.
Among the long shots to land the job are Gary Kubiak (who led Denver from 2015-16), Mike Shanahan, and Shannon Sharpe. Shanahan guided the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl wins in the late 1990s, while Sharpe played tight end for the team for 12 of the 14 years of his Hall of Fame career.
Senior assistant coach Jerry Rosburg has been named as the Broncos’ interim head coach.