ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — While picking assistants for his Broncos’ coaching staff, Sean Payton took different approaches to his two fronts.
Along the defensive line, he retained Marcus Dixon, who along with defensive backs coach Christian Parker were the only two holdovers from Nathaniel Hackett’s staff among Payton’s top 19 position-coach assistants. Ejiro Evero, the Broncos' defensive coordinator last year, wanted to take both Dixon and Parker with him to Carolina, where he is now heading the Panthers' defense.
But Dixon and Parker were under contract with the Broncos and the Broncos weren't about to let talented coaches go to another team.
“It’s an honor,’’ Dixon said last week about the Broncos retaining him. “I always look at this as a privilege. None of us have a right to be here. It’s all a privilege. For him to keep us here, it says a lot for what we do but also for him trusting us. So I’ve got to give him everything I’ve got.”
Along the offensive line, Payton selected the relatively inexperienced Zach Strief, a 12-year NFL offensive lineman turned radio play-by-play broadcaster who moved over to the coaches box as an offensive line assistant just two years ago.
After struggling to mesh with offensive line coach Butch Barry last season, the Broncos’ offensive linemen to date seem to be all in on Strief.
“I understand where they’re at,’’ Strief said when asked how his vast playing experience with the New Orleans Saints carries over into coaching. “I understand the stresses and anxieties that they play with. And I think it’s one of my strengths as a coach is I know how you’re thinking and feeling.
“At the same time there is that moment where now I’m just pushing you. There’s a conditioning aspect to this game and I know exactly what you think about what I’m about to tell you but I don’t care. Because I’m going to push you harder and I’m going to push you harder and I’m going to push you harder.
“And that for me is probably the biggest balancing act is, I want these guys to trust me but sometimes that’s going to be a leap of faith for them because it’s not going to make sense in the moment or it’s going to be harder than they want it to be, or I’m going to yell more than they want me to. But I think you can balance that. And I think it’s important to have that side of you and also to put your arm around the guy.”
Both Strief, 39, and Dixon, 38, received the team’s most expensive offseason gifts for their units. Strief’s offensive line was reinforced with the signings of free-agent left guard Ben Powers and right tackle Mike McGlinchey at a combined $30.5 million per year. Dixon picked up Zach Allen, who replaces Dre’Mont Jones, at better than $15 million per.
“He brings a lot of effort,’’ Dixon said of Allen. “A lot of toughness. Run stopping and pass rush abilities. Smarts. He’s been in the system before with (defensive coordinator Vance Joseph). He brings a lot to the room. He comes in, he wants to work. That’s the biggest thing, he really wants to work. He wants the guys to work and everybody loves him.”
Strief is here in part because Payton has always had a unique affinity for him. It started in 2006, Payton’s first season as the Saints’ head coach. He called his old Miami of Ohio head coach Randy Walker for a late-round recommendation. Walker was then head coach of Northwestern when he recommended Strief. (Two months later, Walker to the shock of the football community died suddenly of an apparent heart attack at 52 years old).
Strief began as a backup guard through his first five NFL seasons, then became a six-year starting offensive tackle for Payton, then had one more partial season at guard before retiring. Payton was further impressed that Strief became a play-by-play radio announcer on Saints’ broadcasts, and not a color commentator as is almost always the job for former players. Two years ago, Payton lifted Strief from one booth to another, making him an assistant offensive line coach.
Strief also gave strong referrals to two other Payton assistants in Austin King and Lou Ayeni. King was Strief’s teammate at Northwestern and is now the Broncos’ assistant offensive line coach; Ayeni is the Broncos and former Northwestern running backs coach.
“He’s not bringing in any more Northwestern people but yeah, Austin who’s working with us on the offensive line was also my host on my official visit at Northwestern,’’ Strief said. “He’s been one of my best friends for 20-something years now. Incredibly bright, talented. He was the offensive coordinator at Dayton, No. 1 offense for three years there. He’s got more background than I do from a schematic standpoint. And what’s great is we think of offensive line play the same, which is awesome.
“And then Louis, Louis was kind of a surprise. Sean came to me and said what do you know about Lou Ayeni and I said, 'He’s the best. We’ve got to bring him in. Everybody loves Lou.' You do a real hard sell and we were fortunate to get him as well. I think those running backs would say the same thing. It’s pretty cool to be here with a lot of familiar faces. But certainly two guys who were just friends from college.”
Dixon stayed here in part because of the impressive developmental work he did with two rookie defensive linemen last season, fourth-rounder Eyioma Uwazurike and sixth-rounder Matt Henningsen. While Uwazurike didn’t play until the second half of last season, Henningsen played in all 17 games.
Those two are expected to get more playing times in 2023 after the Broncos decided not to re-sign veteran defensive lineman DeShawn Williams.
“It’s very good they got those reps last year,’’ Dixon said. “They came in and you can tell they’re a little more confident in what they’re doing and in their ability. And they’re smart. They want to work as well. And they understand it’s a process. We talk about it all the time – it’s all a process and we’re never going to cheat it, we’re never going to rush it and they believed in it. And that’s a credit to them. I’m just a coach. They got to play. And that’s what they’re doing. I’m very happy about it.”
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