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Published on 01/16/2011 at Sun Jan 16 08:51.
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Sean McDermott talks to the media during training camp in 2010. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Sean McDermott talks to the media during training camp in 2010. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

I just mused in the comments section that the Philadelphia Eagles just made their defensive coordinator Sean McDermott available, cutting him loose after his defense held the Green Bay Packers (who beat the white hot Atlanta Falcons 48-21 last night) to just 21 points in last week’s playoff game.

Now our friend, the NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi has just went live with the news that McDermot is already in contract talks with Denver.

“The Denver Broncos are the leading candidate today, I understand he is in contract talks with them today,” Lombardi went on to state that the Carolina Panthers and Packers were also interested. “He’ll end up some place, my guess is it will be Denver.”

McDermott was let go by Philadelphia possibly because of weak halftime adjustments, amongst other things; the Eagles defense finished 21st overall in points, 13th in yards and 15th in passing yards and rushing yards in 2010.

McDermott was named the interim defensive coordinator in 2009 after Jim Johnson was forced to take a medical leave of absence, following Johnson’s death McDermott was named the official defensive coordinator.

McDermott has spent his entire professional coaching career with the Eagles, coaching the team’s secondary, linebackers and defensive coordinator.

UPDATE: McDermott has signed with the Panthers according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

  • flbronc

    that would be a good hire. he is well respected and considered an up and coming assistant. he had control of a defense under an offensive minded head coach, and not much talent (not that he will have a ton of talent here…). i think that working with fox will help him out quite a bit. i think our defense would improve with this hire.

  • 5280

    i tink this is VERY bad hire. the reason the eagles lost was because of there defence. and “his defence held the packers to just 21 points,”???? 21 points is a lot of points! how is that good? thats horrible! maybe i need to read more about him cuz for right now it looks like hasn't done anything special.

  • Shadylp24

    Well since the Packers just droped 48 points on Atlanta, i would say 21 is ok.

  • anthony33

    I am not crazy about McDermott. First off, anyone you could nickname McD makes me cringe. Second, he came up under a ledgend in Philly, some familiar, and got nowhere near the same results. Eagles were 19 in points allowed in 2009 and 23rd this year. That is why the Eagles let him go, and why we should stay away.

  • crazykid

    He was brought up under Jim Johnson. I'd like to see an aggressive Tampa-2 defense over here…

  • Vince_marine

    Yeah, I'm not to sure about this hire. He has only been a DC for 1 full year; the year he was the DC his Defense sucked. I don't know much about the talent level of the Philly D, but I know before he came in they used to be top notch. Maybe some time under Fox will help him out if he is signed.

  • mikebirty

    i just want someone who'll still be dc this time next year.

  • TheTroglodyte

    9 of his 11 starters this year were either undrafted or picked in the 7th round. The fact he ranked 19th with the kind of talent he was given is amazing.

  • TheTroglodyte

    9 of his 11 starters this year were either undrafted or picked in the 7th round. The fact he ranked 19th with the kind of talent he was given is amazing.

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    Yes, thank you, that's the point I was trying to make.

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    Excellent point my friend.

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    If/when he gets hired I'll go much more in depth.

  • Rcsodak

    Do you know what the avg offensive score is? The best, Pitt, avg'd 14+/gm. The worst, Denver, gave up 29+/gm. That means a touchdown +/- is all that separated his “horrible” defense from being the best/worst.
    This isn't Madden, it's real life.

  • NMBronc

    Thank you!

  • NMBronc

    Like most of you I am an armchair Guru this time of year.

    What I do know is that we have an adult running our team now and that I like alot.

  • 12508

    Looks like we are going back to the 4-3. Now lets get the players we need and keep them happy. I hope we look at filling spots with fre agents like David Harris at lb, Asomugha at cb, Woodley at lb, Kiwanuka at de, take your pick at wr it is very deep this year, and we need a rb. Use the draft to fill holes after that. We can improve alot next year. I just wish Brian Xanders has no input on what we do.

  • anthony33

    Want to think about something that will make you sick? What if we had hired Fox two years ago… Nolan would probably still be here, most of the offensive coaching staff including Dennison, Turner and Bates would still be here. Cutler, Marshall, Sheffler and Hillis would still be here. We would most likely have a top 10-15 defense with a top 10 offense.

    We would most likely be playing today… hhhggghhh.

    McD may have been the worst hire in the history of pro football.

  • (dee)

    McD was one of the brightest minds that the Denver Bron……Ok I'll stop defending him… I just wanted the guy to succeed so badly , which would ultimately mean that our team was a success… but I grew tired of the drama that surronded this guy…he put out a brave front… but it was hallow inside.

    I like Fox .. he seems genuine and humble. Hopefully we do well in free agency and in the draft and Tebow develops like we all hope.

  • areferee

    I get a little nervous looking at another McD possibly on the sidelines…

    Besides, he looks like Richie Cunningham! :-)

  • CJ

    Sean McDermott is the best 4-3 guy available.. if were going 4-3 i would be happy with this signing

    He did good his first year because he had good players
    this year lots of rookies and some injuries

  • CJ

    i cant find this report??

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Josh Temple

    Except that John Fox wasn't available 2 years ago. Spags was though.

  • anthony33

    True, but similar result either way.

    Time to move on and get behind Fox. Our offense should remain decent with a couple more pieces. I don't think there is any doubt the defense will improve.

  • WhidbeyBronco

    no kidding. Look at the chiefs assistants… look at Chicago's assistants…

    I want somebody with experience!

  • TheTroglodyte

    HAHA!

  • flbronc

    now that the patriots are out of the playoffs, maybe we can snag some of their assistants.

    psyche.

  • Alm034

    Ladies and gentlemen, your new DC…Ron Howard!

  • BronkHonk

    Sign Sean McDermott and go back to the 4 – 3. We alreay have the DE's for it in Dum and Ayers. Then go get haynesworth! Hayneworth wants to be in a 4 – 3 anyway. Bannon can fil the other side. Haynesworth will automatically make him better. We need the 4 – 3 and Hayneworth!! Draft a MLB and SS!!

    GO BRONCOS!!!

  • Laramiefan

    Ron Howard ??? Terry Bradshaw —

  • 5280

    alright first off, “ok”? McDermots D allowing the packers is “ok” and thats why we should hire him? well im sorry i might be a little high maintnence but i dont want “ok” i want superb, best in the league quality or at least something close to it. rcsodak the pats average 30 pts a game this year. the broncos shouldnt be looking for average pts per game they should be try to DEMOLISH teams. they should be trying to SHUT OUT opponents. why is average fine with u guys. i want my team to dominate and giving up 21 points to ANY team is not dominant. and just because the guy is a 4-3 guy doesnt mean he isnt gonna use a 3-4. everyone STOP SAYING THAT! McDermots only been a DC for a year and he's posted a 23 ranked in points allowed. to say “wow that pretty good when 9 of his 11 starters were injured” is irrelivent because the guys only coached a year! so what scale do u judge the 23rd ranking from? he's never had a defence before to compare it to. 23rd is wack! we need someone who either already has coached defences to top 5-10 rankings or a guys who has strong ties with great defensive minds, and no that doesn't mean jim johnson. the broncos should be trying to bring in the best people they could find and 23rd rankings are not the best they can find.

  • LevonZevon

    You can't be serious?

    Jimmy Johnson wasn't a great defensive-mind? Ask any NFL executive or head-coach of the last 15 years and the names Dick Le Beau, Monte Kiffin, Rex Ryan and Jimmy Johnson will come up when asked who the best in their field were.

    And McDermott did his best in a rookie campaign without veterans like LB Jeremiah Trotter, LB Chris Gocong, CB Shelden Brown, DE Jason Babin, LB Will Withersoon and LB Chris Clemons (all let go in what they assumed would be a rebuilding year without McNabb).

    In their stead, only injured Colts CB Marlin Jackson, DE Darryl Tapp and LB Ernie Sums were brought in.

    So I am happier about this news than about any news thus far (if it turns out to be true).

    Rob Ryan would have been great, but his Browns defense's numbers weren't much better and Fox doesn't want a 3-4 D.C. That means, we needed a young 4-3 defensive-mind who has experience in understanding the subtle benefits of blitz packages and disguising looks. An added benefit is a familiarity with that rare skill of CB Assante Samuel in switching off his receiver to go where the QB doesn't expect.

    McDermott also had to instantly acquaint rookie defenders like Brandon Graham and Safety Nate Allen with the demands of starting (and did so relatively well).

    This Broncos team has been more devoid of blitzing– yet also lacked the natural pass pressure of the D-line– since 1998 (and even then it was mostly due to being up by 24 points at half and Greg Robinson getting a begrudgingly-given green light by Shanahan).

    Only Assante Samuel played up to Pro-Bowl status for the Eagles (who were still struggling to fill Dawkins and Brown's departure). Considering all that, holding Rodgers to 21 points is pretty darn impressive. And I wonder if Jim Mora Jr. could ave done the same with the personnel McDermott was given in his first year.

    At least, he was trained under Johnson and we can finally bring that aggressiveness here to Denver (where it has sorely been lacking).

    Look at the first half vs the visiting Chiefs in 2010 and the road win at San Diego last year. Ten tell me when else we unshackled the linebackers and D-backs to supplement the pass-rush (besides 2-3 Safety or CB blitzes a game in Nolan's 6-0 start).

    McDaniels squelched that when he read S.I. and other magazines giving credit for the fast start to Nolan's overhaul. Like the tin-eared and thin-skinned dictator he was, he couldn't stand for anyone else getting credit (so he treated Nolan the way a young J. Edgar Hoover dispatched FBI agent Melvin Purvis from “Public Enemies:).

    McD thought his dink-and-dunk, risk-averse offense was all that was needed to win games and to prove how flawed Jay Cutler's gunslinging approach was.

    So Nolan's blitzes decreased and the Ravens showed the league how to stop our short passing game (especially once teams realized McD's animus McD had for TE Tony Scheffler
    eifs

  • anthony33

    Good article on MHR pertaining to McD. Makes the point that he is a only a 2 year DC and in fact the defense has gotten worse in Philly. He worked under the great Jim Johnson, but as witnessed many times, that does not automatically transend to the next guy.

    The one thing the article did not mention is that Andy Reid is an offensensive minded coach with offense as his background. That said, perhaps he was not able to help McD as much as a John Fox could. So… this would be a bit of a risky move for the Broncos although not as bad as I first thought.

    Curious to see who they hire as the QB coach.

  • Darwin

    Fox was brought in because he is experienced. He is a defensive coach. He knows what he wants in a coach. You either trust Fox or not to make sound decisions.
    I was not thrilled with Fox's hire but I am willing to give him the benefit of a doubt.

  • td30ismvp

    A seasoned Defensive minded head coach hires a promising young DC, not exactly ground breaking and very smart on Fox's part not having a power struggle with your coordinator who has “done it this way for years”. Jim Mora will leave at the first head coaching job he can get we really need some stability for a few years. Fox is working the right side of the ball with his strengths and basically just tinkering with the Offense, kind of sounds like the proper strategy to me.

  • Hope

    Jay Cutler was great yesterday.Wish he played for the broncos still.Why the bears are wining super bowles for the next ten years the bronco will be replacing coaches and comeing last in the nfl.I told eveyone that the broncos was going to be the new detriot lions last year and every one said I was roung but I was right.

  • flbronc

    dp is reporting it as official that we have kept mccoy and studesville, while hiring the ol coach from carolina- dave magazu. he ran a zbs scheme there, hopefully he brings it back.

  • herc_rock

    This is a smart interview. Jim Johnson was a legend. You at least have to give the guys hand-picked successor an interview.

    Opie.

  • CJ

    Sean McDermott went to carolina

  • td30ismvp

    I wish he still played for the Broncos too, then the two Jerseys, rookie card, and autographed football would still make me smile, but he cried his way off of the team, so it is time to be happy for him and get over it.

    While the Bears
    Winning Super Bowls (which they have yet to make it to btw)
    Broncos
    coming
    Detroit
    wrong

  • td30ismvp

    Back to the drawing board

  • Stav

    Jay Glazer tweeted that Mora is on his way to Denver for an interview.

  • Darwin

    Fox was brought in because he is experienced. He is a defensive coach. He knows what he wants in a coach. You either trust Fox or not to make sound decisions.
    I was not thrilled with Fox's hire but I am willing to give him the benefit of a doubt.

  • TD30isMVP

    A seasoned Defensive minded head coach hires a promising young DC, not exactly ground breaking and very smart on Fox's part not having a power struggle with your coordinator who has “done it this way for years”. Jim Mora will leave at the first head coaching job he can get we really need some stability for a few years. Fox is working the right side of the ball with his strengths and basically just tinkering with the Offense, kind of sounds like the proper strategy to me.

  • Hope

    Jay Cutler was great yesterday.Wish he played for the broncos still.Why the bears are wining super bowles for the next ten years the bronco will be replacing coaches and comeing last in the nfl.I told eveyone that the broncos was going to be the new detriot lions last year and every one said I was roung but I was right.

  • flbronc

    dp is reporting it as official that we have kept mccoy and studesville, while hiring the ol coach from carolina- dave magazu. he ran a zbs scheme there, hopefully he brings it back.

  • herc_rock

    This is a smart interview. Jim Johnson was a legend. You at least have to give the guys hand-picked successor a look-see.

    Opie.

  • CJ

    Sean McDermott went to carolina

  • TD30isMVP

    I wish he still played for the Broncos too, then the two Jerseys, rookie card, and autographed football would still make me smile, but he cried his way off of the team, so it is time to be happy for him and get over it.

    While the Bears
    Winning Super Bowls (which they have yet to make it to btw)
    Broncos
    coming
    Detroit
    wrong

  • TD30isMVP

    Back to the drawing board

  • Stav

    Jay Glazer tweeted that Mora is on his way to Denver for an interview.