CENTENNIAL, Colo -- The Broncos hope a reunion can rev up a disappointing offense.
With an interview running deep into Thursday night, the Broncos are finalizing a deal with Mike McCoy to become the team's new offensive coordinator. It could become official as soon as Friday morning.
McCoy served as the Broncos' offensive boss from 2009-2012 for Josh McDaniels and John Fox before becoming the San Diego Chargers head coach.
Fired after San Diego finished last in the AFC West, McCoy jumped to the top of new coach Vance Joseph and general manager John Elway's wish list. McCoy has forged a reputation for his versatility in working with multiple quarterbacks. Tim Tebow excelled under McCoy's watch followed by Peyton Manning. San Diego's Philip Rivers won NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2013 with McCoy's assistance.
Adaptability remains critical for the next offensive coordinator. Joseph is looking to rebrand the offense after it ranked 25th in points scored and lacked an identity. Joseph wants swagger defined by an uptempo, aggressive attack. He also demands elasticity, lending to the skillsets of both Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch.
"Obviously Trevor is a guy with great poise, a great technician with great footwork. He makes few errors with the ball. Paxton is a big gunslinger, an athletic guy. He’s young. He needs time. But he’s talented," Joseph told Denver7. "It’s two different guys, but I think it can work. It’s going to be a healthy competition. We are going to have to build it around those two kids, and they are so different it’s going to take a coordinator with some vision to build an offense around both so they can compete fairly."
The Broncos are still scheduled to interview former Raiders coordinator and one-time Broncos backup quarterback Bill Musgrave on Friday. It poses an interesting question: Could Musgrave join McCoy in an offensive assistant role? Musgrave brought McCoy into the NFL as an assistant when Musgrave worked in Carolina. Musgrave could decide to pursue a coordinator's job, but the possibility of working in Denver might entice him.
The Broncos, as expected, began parting ways with numerous offensive assistants on Thursday. Even if Gary Kubiak hadn't stepped down for health reasons, changes were coming on this side of the ball. Those let go at this point include offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, line coach Clancy Barone and tight ends coach Brian Pariani.
Joseph was interested in keeping special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, but wanted to interview other candidates. DeCamillis elected not to see how it would play out, and accepted the same position with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.
The Broncos are expected to interview Dolphins assistant offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn for their line coaching position.