Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been tapped to be part of the Denver Broncos’ search committee for its new head coach.
MSN News reported that Broncos owner and CEO George Penner has already announced the Broncos’ next head coach will report directly to him instead of General Manager George Patton.
Penner, who bought the Broncos before this NFL season, traded for quarterback Russell Wilson and signed him to a $245 million extension, making the team a preseason contender in the AFC West under first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
However, things have not gone well. Wilson has struggled for weeks and his teammates have grown tired of his overwhelmingly positive attitude. Things hit a boiling point last week as cameras caught Bronco teammates fighting each other on the sidelines after Wilson was sacked on consecutive plays against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Broncos are currently 4-11 and Wilson has thrown for just 12 touchdowns this season, matching the number of bathrooms in the home the shares with recording star Ciara.
The disappointing season led to Penner relieving Hackett of his duties less than a year into the job. Rice is now part of the committee to find the team a new head coach and is sure to be part of the interview process which will likely begin after the Super Bowl in February.
Rice is a well-known figure in football circles as she was the only female on the College Football Playoff selection committee between 2013 and 2016. In 2014, Rice, Business Insider reported, watched 14 or 15 college football games per week as part of her work with the comittee.
Early candidates for the Broncos head coach position include Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn
, who was a finalist for the position last year before Hackett was chosen. Other potential candidates include former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, who spent the year working as an analyst for the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show.Whoever the new coach is will have to develop a relationship with Wilson because the Broncos cannot escape his extension for several years.