Late last month, the San Francisco 49ers agreed to terms with Denver Broncos director of college scouting Adam Peters to serve as John Lynch’s Vice President of Player Personnel. On Friday, we learned that the Broncos granted John Benton permission to interview for Kyle Shanahan’s vacant offensive line coach. Benton had joined the Broncos last month as an assistant offensive line coach.
Both men were under contract, and so had to get permission to interview with the 49ers. While Peters was getting a promotion, he does not have roster control, which means the Broncos could have declined permission. Benton is also getting a promotion, but unless a coach is interviewing for a head coach job, his current team can deny permission for any other coaching role.
So why are the Broncos so amenable to the 49ers poaching these two? It makes sense for a couple reasons. The first is the strong relationship John Elway and the Broncos have with John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan. Elway would not give away the farm because they get along, but he has a good relationship with them.
The other reason that I think is more important is how the Broncos want to establish themselves around the league. Both Peters and Benton are getting a chance for more responsibilities in their jobs. Benton has OL coach experience, so it’s not a huge deal, but it is still a chance for a step-up in title. Peters is considered a personnel executive on the rise, and this is a clear step up from college scouting director.
If you are the Denver Broncos, you know you will need to hire people for a variety of roles in the coming years. In letting Peters and Benton depart, the Broncos can sell themselves as an organization that will not stand in your way if a chance for more responsibility comes along outside the organization. If I am interviewing for a job, that is a good quality to have. Sure, I would like to know I can grow within the organization, but given some of those limitations, knowing they will let me out of my contract if the right opportunity comes along is a strong quality.