The Denver Broncos are going to have to replace their defensive coordinator after only one season. Such is life when you turn around a franchise rather quickly. John Fox is the steady hand at the helm, so the Broncos should be just fine next season as they try to defend their AFC West title, but they will have to replace Dennis Allen who took off for the Oakland Raiders as their new head coach. Possible replacements, however, sound pretty good.
Jack Del Rio has been mentioned as a possibility to replace Allen based on his relationship with Fox. Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post writes:
The loss of Allen means that the Broncos are again on the hunt for a defensive coordinator. That's been the case repeatedly since they fired Larry Coyer after the 2006 season. The Broncos will be hiring their seventh defensive coordinator in a seven-season span.
Linebackers coach Richard Smith, a former defensive coordinator with the Houston Texans and the Miami Dolphins who also was on Fox's defensive staff in Carolina, would be the team's primary in-house candidate to replace Allen. Fox also is likely to give a long look at one of his former defensive coordinators in Carolina, former Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio.