Broncos officially hire new offensive coordinator

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vic Fangio wasted no time finding the Denver Broncos’ next offensive coordinator.

Hours after firing Rich Scangarello on Sunday, Fangio already had an agreement in place with Pat Shurmur to take over the Broncos’ offense. On Tuesday, the two sides made it official.

Shurmur, 54, joins the Broncos after spending the last two seasons as the New York Giants head coach. In New York, Shurmur racked up a 19-46 record.

In 2019, the Giants had the 19th-best scoring offense, putting up 21.3 points per game, compared to Denver’s 17.6. The story was similar in 2018, when the Giants 23.1 points per game ranked as the 16th most, while Denver’s 20.6 points per game were the ninth-worst.

During 2019, however, Shurmur worked in developing the No. 5 overall pick Daniel Jones. Under Shurmur, the rookie threw for 24 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 232 yards per game, an 87.7 passer rating and a 55 QBR in 12 starts.

In Denver, Shurmur will be paired up with the 42nd-overall pick in the 2019 draft with Drew Lock. In Denver, under Scangarello, Lock went 4-1, threw for seven touchdowns, three interceptions, 204 yards per game, an 89.7 passer rating and a 57.7 QBR during his rookie season. Multiple reports have indicated Shurmur was high on Lock during the draft process.

Before taking over the Giants, Shurmur was named the AP’s NFL Assistant Coach of the Year when he helped Case Keenum have a career year as the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings.

The veteran offensive coach has seven years of experience as an NFL offensive coordinator, seven years of NFL experience as a quarterback coach and four years as an NFL head coach.

Shurmur’s offense stems from the Andy Reid coaching tree, meaning the Broncos are breaking from the direct ties of the Mike Shanahan offense it appeared John Elway was committed to.

Last year, Shurmur put Jones in shotgun 75 percent of the plays, while only using a fullback two percent of the time. Both directly counter what Denver did last year with Scangarello.

A source told DNVR, Fangio was looking for an experienced play-caller who wasn’t afraid to take shots during the game. Shurmur fits that bill.

Mike Munchak is expected to return as Denver’s offensive line coach, but there is uncertainty for the rest of the position coaches as Shurmur takes over the offensive side of the ball.