The Denver Broncos have been living with a coaching vacancy on defense since Greg Manusky was jettisoned back in January. According to CBS Sports‘ Bruce Feldman, Denver’s inside linebacker coaching vacancy has been filled by Jeff Schmedding.
The move has also been confirmed by multiple NFL insiders.
A long-time assistant in the college ranks, Schmedding has served as a defensive coordinator in each of his past two coaching stops, including Eastern Washington, Boise State, Auburn, and, most recently, Washington State.
Schmedding, 47, takes over a Broncos inside linebacker room that is somewhat in a state of flux. Alex Singleton is recovering from a season mostly lost to injury after he tore his ACL in Week 3.
The Broncos let Cody Barton walk in free agency, opting to fill his starting role with former San Francisco stand-out Dre Greenlaw. To hedge against the vagaries of the injury bug, the Broncos also re-signed Justin Strnad.
The Broncos also have high hopes still for Drew Sanders, a 2023 third-round pick, whose career has been interrupted by — you guessed it — the injury bug. However, head coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton echoed each other at the NFL Combine last month in their belief that Sanders has future starter potential.
The Broncos also have LeVelle Bailey and K.J. Cloyd rounding out the depth of the inside linebacker room that Schmedding inherits. Hopefully, things are looking up for the veteran coach after he was fired by Washington State in December.
It’s been a topsy-turvy offseason for Payton’s coaching staff. On the heels of a 10-win season, the Broncos were plundered by coaching hires around the NFL.
That’s one of the downsides to a winning program. Everyone else wants a piece of that shine.
On top of that particular onslaught, outside linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite was arrested in February for allegedly assaulting a police officer outside Denver International Airport. The Broncos fired him a few days later.
But Payton announced several coaching hires to fill vacancies a few weeks back, along with news of some internal promotions. Inside linebackers had the last vacancy to fill, and we now know it’ll be Schmedding who fills it.