The Denver Broncos added a few more names to the chopping block on Monday, just hours after firing head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
The 4-11 Broncos relieved special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes and offensive line coach Butch Barry of their duties, the team announced on Monday night. Mike Mallory will coach special teams and Ben Steele will coach the offensive line for the duration of the season.
This marked the first time Stukes was a coordinator with a team; he was the Los Angeles Rams' assistant special teams coach during their 2021 campaign that ended with a Super Bowl championship win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Stukes took the promotion with the Broncos' at the start of the year, but will be looking for a new team to join in 2023.
Similarly, Barry served as the assistant offensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers last season, taking a promotion to join the Broncos' staff this year. He was the University of Miami's offensive line coach in 2019, and also a senior analyst with the Green Bay Packers in 2020.
With Hackett now gone and Jerry Rosburg taking over as interim head coach at least until the end of the season, clearly Denver doesn't mind making a few more changes to the coaching staff after an abysmal 2022 campaign.
The firings come on the heel of a 51-14 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Day; the Rams scored on every offensive drive of the game. Now at 4-11 and well out of playoff contention, the Broncos will be looking ahead to next season, and won't have a high pick in the first round of next year's draft after spending it to land Russell Wilson in the offseason.
“We recognize and appreciate this organization's championship history, and we understand we have not met that standard,” team owner and CEO Greg Penner said in a statement. “Our fans deserve much better, and I can't say enough about their loyalty during such a challenging stretch for our team.”
The Denver Broncos will have some new faces on the sideline for their New Year's Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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