Broncos don’t fix problem by firing Mike McCoy

On Monday, the Denver Broncos made a change. After losing 20-17 at home to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, head coach Vance Joseph fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. 10 months ago, he was relieved of his duties as head coach of the San Diego Chargers.

With McCoy out, Joseph has tabbed quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave to run the offense for the remainder of the year. He did the same thing last season with the Oakland Raiders. Denver ( 3- 7) are in the midst of a six-game losing streak, and trying to improve offensively. Good luck with that.

McCoy might not be the answer, but until personnel is shifted around, nobody is going to fix this mess. The Broncos don’t have a competent quarterback, whether we are talking about Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch or Brock Osweiler. In fact, it’s arguable that none of them belong in the NFL, and certainly none as a starter.

Then there is the matter of the offensive line. Center Matt Paradis is one of the better players at his position, and Ronald Leary has been solid after being signed this offseason after a successful stint with the Dallas Cowboys. The rest of the group is a disaster, especially left guard Max Garcia and right tackle Menelik Watson, who has been spelled by Allen Barbre and Donald Stephenson at times. None have done an adequate job, allowing a ton of pressure.

Decisions

On the outside, Demaryius Thomas is aging and Emmanuel Sanders has been beaten up. While the depth chart below them reeks of a lack of skill. In other words, the Denver defense has to play perfect, because this offense has little chance of making real waves.

All of that falls at the feet of general manager John Elway. who hasn’t drafted an All-Pro or Pro Bowl player since the 2011 draft. Elway is getting somewhat of a free pass in Denver with his legendary career and Super Bowl ring as an executive in 2015, but the Broncos‘ best all-time player is finding it harder to win without Peyton Manning under center.

Denver has some real decisions to make this offseason, and having Elway at the controls shouldn’t make anybody less anxious. The Broncos are probably looking at a top 10 pick in the upcoming draft, and will need to either take another quarterback in the first round or declare faith in Lynch, who twice failed to beat out Siemian in a training camp battle.

It’s a lost season in Denver, regardless of who is calling the plays. The months following the final game will tell us all we need to know about the Broncos future, for better or worse.