ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos have named Rich Scangarello as their offensive coordinator, Head Coach Vic Fangio announced Wednesday.
Scangarello, who will enter his first season as an NFL offensive coordinator, will be tasked with improving a Broncos offense that ranked 24th in the NFL in points per game in 2018. The Broncos ranked 26th in the league in 2017.
Scangarello (pronounced: SKANE-guh-rel-OH) spent the previous two seasons as the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers, who had four different quarterbacks start at least six games each during that time.
"With the addition of Rich Scangarello as our offensive coordinator, we're getting an experienced coach who was a trusted and valued assistant with Kyle Shanahan for three seasons," Fangio said. "He worked wonders with all the quarterbacks who started for San Francisco during the previous two years as quarterbacks coach. With his background and knowledge, it's the perfect time for Rich to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL. I find this opportunity for Rich very similar to when I first became a defensive coordinator many years ago, and he is ready to take this step in his career."
Despite the lack of consistency, Scangarello helped the patchwork group of Jimmy Garoppolo, C.J. Beathard, Brian Hoyer and Nick Mullens rank 10th in passing yards per game over the previous two seasons. The collective group also completed 60.8 percent of its passes.
Garoppolo, whom the 49ers traded for during the 2017 season, found success early in his tenure in San Francisco. The 49ers finished the season on a five-game winning streak after starting the season 1-10. Garoppolo suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3 of the 2018 season, but he posted a 64.8 percent completion percentage, 2,278 yards, 12 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 94.1 quarterback rating in his nine games before the injury.
After Garoppolo's injury, Scangarello helped Mullens advance from undrafted free agent and practice squad player to NFL starter. Mullens completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,277 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his eight games in 2018. Mullens started for the 49ers in December when they earned a 20-14 win over the Broncos. The first-year quarterback threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns in San Francisco's victory.
In 2019, Garoppolo, Beathard and Mullens combine to pass for the most passing yards in a season since Steve Young threw for 4,510 yards in 1998.
Scangarello holds four seasons of NFL experience — he served as an offensive quality control coach for Atlanta (2015) and Oakland (2009) — and coached for 17 years at the collegiate level.
He previously served as an offensive coordinator at Wagner College, Northern Arizona, Millsaps and UC Davis.
He has 24 total years of coaching experience.
