January 6, 2009 11:34 PM

Broncos Inbox -- Jan. 7

Welcome, the Broncos Inbox is open and it was the first unanimous week in the Inbox's history. Every question submitted -- and there were almost triple digits worth - was about the Broncos coaching search.

Q: Can (you) shed light on how the Broncos interviews have gone, and what the general mood is of Pat Bowlen and his team going forward? Specifically, can you speak to one report I heard that the Broncos brass were underwhelmed by Saturday's meeting with Giant's coordinator Steve Spagnuolo?

A: For many of the Broncos in the front office, specifically owner Pat Bowlen and chief operating officer Joe Ellis, this is not a regular occurrence. Bowlen hasn't hired a head coach since 1995 and Ellis has not participated in a coaching search with the team.

So a lot of the search, at least initially, was simply getting organized and focusing on the candidates they wanted to bring in on the first wave of interviews.

That said, the interviews, by all accounts, have gone well as far as getting the information they wanted from candidates and asking the questions they want to ask. However, interviews are often like draft picks -- everybody's great on draft day - and interviews are usually said to be good unless a guy simply crumbles during the thing.

I think the Broncos would classify them all as productive. As far as Spagnuolo's interview it was his second one of the day - he had interviewed with the Jets as well - after a week of getting prepared for a playoff game.

So he may not have done cartwheels over dinner, but circumstances determine how somebody does in an interview. He may have been understated at times, but "under-whelming'' is not something that's been conveyed to me in that case.

Look at the guy's gameplan in the Super Bowl last February and he could use three-word sentences and not be under-whelming. It's a football decision and there is no cookie-cutter approach to making it.

It's like reports I've seen of one or two guys "leading the way'' before the Broncos have even interviewed everyone they want to. One report went as far as to say Spagnuolo was leading the pack when he had been the only guy who had actually interviewed with the team to that point.

So essentially he was at the front of a "line'' that had one person in it at the time.

That's the way coaching searches go. There is no question, however, that Bowlen is likely somewhat taken aback, after a few days to look at it, at the scope of firing Mike Shanahan, meeting with the Broncos assistant coaches who all want to know their fate as well and then locating and interviewing candidates to fill the job.

Some teams do it so often they get calloused to the process. But the Broncos are not one of those teams.

It's a weighty decision and I don't think they'll jump to fill the job until they're comfortable with one of the candidates. They may even bring one or two back for second interviews - this is still possible - to find that comfort level.

But all of the guys interviewed to this point - five in all through Tuesday - have been quizzed about their plans for the coaching staff, what kinds of things they would do on offense and defense as well as presenting how they would structure practice or even go about being the most visible face of the franchise.

Harpo . . .

Q: Any way you could relay the message to Pat Bowlen about, at least, interviewing Rex Ryan? He should be the Broncos next coach and leave Jeremy Bates as the offensive coordinator. What do you think?

A: Ryan was on an initial list of candidates, but did not make the cut to the seven who will be interviewed in the window between Saturday and Thursday.

The seven:
Saturday: Steve Spagnuolo, Giants defensive coordinator, in New York.
Sunday: Josh McDaniels, Patriots offensive coordinator, in Providence, R.I.
Monday: Raheem Morris, Buccaneers defensive coordinator, in Denver.
Tuesday: Jason Garrett, Cowboys offensive coordinator; Rick Dennison, Broncos offensive coordinator, both in Denver.
Wednesday: Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, in Denver.
Thursday: Dolphins assistant head coach/secondary Todd Bowles, in Denver.

Both Shanahan and quarterback Jay Cutler have lobbied to keep Bates on the staff. Financially he has three years left on his contract - it runs through 2011.

But he, like the rest of the assistants, have been told they can look around and talk to other teams if they wish. And that they will all be interviewed and/or evaluated again when a new head coach is hired.

He, and some others, could be retained - like Ryan was retained in Baltimore when John Harbaugh was hired before this past season - but many will not be back. Usually a guy who is going to interview for a head coaching job has already made the rounds to see who he might be able to get on his staff.

It's just the way it works. So if the candidates are prepared and savvy enough to get the job they usually already have a good idea of some of the key members of their coaching staff would be.

Master Sgt. Robert Ferrau led a double dip on a general manager . . .

Q: Any ideas on whether or not football operations will be restructured to have a real general manager and take player selection away from the head coach? Player selection on defense seems to have been the most glaring weakness for the Broncos in the past few years to me, I'm curious if the organization agrees.

A: Overall that has already been re-structured the minute Shanahan was fired. Bowlen said the new head coach would no longer have the ultimate authority over personnel.

A Pioli-McDaniels grouping is not likely right now. McDaniels is a popular target among teams because he's a rare assistant coach who is young enough to still be considered an up-and-comer by those hiring coaches around the league and has also worked on both sides of the ball extensively.

McDaniels was a front-line position coach on defense for the Patriots and has worked on offense the past few seasons as well, including being the guy calling the plays.

He will definitely get heavy consideration by the Broncos. Pioli has a long list, according to teams that have talked to him in the past, of things he would like, including being one the best-paid general managers in the league.

It's a list, or a better phrase may be set of parameters to get him, big enough that it has made some teams hesitate in hiring him and likely is at least part of the reason why he hasn't taken a job away from the Patriots despite drawing so much interest in recent seasons.

The Broncos are also on the hook of about $7 million a year for three years to Shanahan if he doesn't take another job or they'll be on the hook for part of it if any new job doesn't pay him that much.

So with the prospect of paying a new head coach as well as paying any assistant coaches who are let go that have years remaining on their deals - and they are all signed at least through '09, some longer - and hiring some new assistants as well, that is a big financial commitment already.

So the Broncos' focus is on getting that in order on the coaching side. The personnel side will keep going the way they're going. With the college all-star games coming up, including the Senior Bowl later this month, as well as the combine in February, any big shift in personnel right now would really hinder what a team could do to get ready for the draft.

So at some point Bowlen may decide he needs a general manager to look over things, but he's got enough going right now, and with two of the last three drafts having been productive, to leave that until later if he thinks it becomes necessary.

And the team does have plenty of staffing there with a vice president of player personnel as well as two assistant general managers already in place.

Speaking of Shanahan's contract, Bill Meyers in Arlington, Conn., asked . . .