A note on coaching interviews

Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels may have to do some coaching interviews of his own after offensive line coach Rick Dennison, right, interviews in Houston. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

With Denver Broncos offensive line coach Rick Dennison interviewing with the Houston Texans today, and running backs coach Bobby Turner denied that same opportunity in Washington, many have asked via Twitter, email and comments why the former was permitted to talk with another team, and the latter was not.

Our initial understanding was that Turner’s interview request involved a lateral position, and so the Broncos weren’t required to allow him to interview.  Since Dennison’s interview in Houston involves what would be a promotion to offensive coordinator, they would be.

This isn’t entirely accurate.  Thanks to comments by Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post and Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com, the only league mandate involving assistant coach interviews pertains to an opening for head coach.  In that case, the current employer would be required to allow their assistant to interview.

We even hypothesized that Mike Shanahan could throw out a title like “Assistant Head Coach — Running Backs” to woo Turner away, but that was also clarified by the Post’s Mike Klis.  (Thanks for keeping us honest, everybody).

So, it’s not explicitly against the rules to disallow your employee to seek promotion elsewhere, but it is a discourtesy to do so, as would be the case in any work field.  The Broncos are simply following these common-sense principles with Dennison while electing to keep Turner in-house, since a reunion with Shanahan wouldn’t involve a promotion.

It’s a good iota of info to fully understand, especially since the Broncos will likely be making some coaching interviews of their own in the coming days.