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Look back at photos of Brian Pariani, who coached in Denver from 1995 to 2004. All photos as a Bronco courtesy of Eric Lars Bakke. Others from Associated Press.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.**— The Denver Broncos hired Brian Pariani as their tight ends coach, it was announced on Wednesday.
Pariani owns 24 years of coaching experience in the NFL ranks, including 19 seasons as a tight ends coach. He previously held that position with Denver from 1995-2004.
He coached Baltimore's tight ends in Broncos Head Coach Gary Kubiak's offense in 2014, instructing a unit that combined for 76 catches for 800 yards (10.5 avg.) with five touchdowns. The group overcame the loss of Dennis Pitta to an early-season injury and was led by Owen Daniels, who ranked third on the club with 48 receptions for 527 yards (11.0 avg.) with four touchdowns.
Pariani coached tight ends in Houston for Kubiak's entire eight-year tenure as head coach of the Texans. During that time, Daniels developed into one of the premier tight ends in the NFL, earning two Pro Bowl selections (2008, '12) and totaling 385 receptions for 4,617 yards (12.0 avg.) with 29 touchdowns—second only to wide receiver Andre Johnson's on the franchise's all-time receiving list in each of those categories.
Prior to spending the 2005 season as offensive coordinator at Syracuse University, Pariani coached Denver's tight ends for 10 seasons (1995-2004) and was a member of Denver's 1997 and '98 Super Bowl Championship teams. Under Pariani's instruction, Pro Football Hall of Fame tight endShannon Sharpe was named to three consecutive All-Pro teams (1996-98) by the Associated Press and tight end Dwayne Carswell earned a Pro Bowl invitation (2001).
Pariani entered the NFL as a scouting assistant with San Francisco in 1990 and spent three additional seasons (1991-94) with the 49ers as an offensive assistant. He earned his first career Super Bowl ring as a member of San Francisco's 1994 team that established franchise records for points (505) and touchdowns (62).
A political science major at UCLA, Pariani began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for his alma mater in 1989 under Head Coach Terry Donahue.
He was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, baseball) at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, Calif., and was born on July 2, 1965 in San Francisco.
