A week after Broncos defensive coordinator Mike Nolan left the team, details are still trickling out regarding the circumstances that led to his 24-hour journey from Denver to Miami. (Or was it Milan to Minsk?)
Per a league source, the Broncos immediately suspected upon receiving a form requesting permission to interview Nolan for the same job in Miami that the Dolphins had been talking to Nolan, which would be a clear violation of the tampering rules.
But the source says the Broncos didn’t care, because they were ready to part ways with Nolan. Nolan and coach Josh McDaniels were “too much alike,” the source said, and so they routinely butted heads.
So, as Jason La Canfora of NFL.com recently reported, the split didn’t occur because McDaniels told Nolan that the Broncos were going to stop blitzing, but because McDaniels and Nolan simply could no longer coexist. Miami’s attempt to hire Nolan simply provided both sides with an escape route.