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Broncos coach Vic Fangio sought 'good, good teachers' to fill staff

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Vic Fangio said he wanted "good, good teachers" to populate his Denver Broncos coaching staff and that aspect was "nonnegotiable."

In the weeks that have followed Fangio's formal introduction as the new coach, he has filled out his staff with a former Broncos coach in Ed Donatell (defensive coordinator), a Hall of Famer in Mike Munchak (offensive line coach) and a first-time NFL playcaller in Rich Scangarello (offensive coordinator).

Below is a look at the offensive and defensive assistants:

OFFENSE

Zach Azzanni (wide receivers): Azzanni is one of the two assistants on offense who were retained from Vance Joseph's staff, but he's no stranger to Fangio. Azzanni was on the Chicago Bears' staff in 2017 when Fangio was the team's defensive coordinator. Azzanni spent almost two decades as a college assistant, including stops at Tennessee, Wisconsin, Western Kentucky and Florida, before joining the Bears' staff in '17.

Rob Calabrese (quality control/offense): Scangarello reached into his collegiate background to hire Calabrese for his first job as an NFL assistant. Calabrese was the offensive coordinator at Wagner for the past two seasons and was Wagner's running backs coach when Scangarello was the school's offensive coordinator.

Wade Harman (tight ends): Harman has been a longtime NFL assistant, including a 15-season run with the Baltimore Ravens, as well as the past four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He coached tight ends in 19 of his 22 previous seasons as an NFL assistant coach. Broncos Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe was one of the Ravens players coached by Harman during his time in Baltimore.

Chris Kuper (assistant offensive line): Kuper spent eight seasons as a Broncos player and has quickly developed into a young coach with a bright future. He will enter his fourth season as a coach in 2019 having spent the past three years on Adam Gase's staff with the Miami Dolphins. Kuper played 90 games with the Broncos.

T.C. McCartney (quarterbacks): McCartney was on the 49ers' staff the past two seasons with Scangarello. A graduate of Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado, McCartney is the grandson of former University of Colorado coach Bill McCartney and the son of former Colorado quarterback Sal Aunese.

Curtis Modkins (running backs): Modkins is the other assistant on offense who was retained from Joseph's staff. This past season Phillip Lindsay became the fourth 1,000-yard rusher Modkins has worked with during his time in the league (C.J. Spiller, Reggie Bush and Jordan Howard were the others). Like Azzanni, Modkins was on the Bears' staff during Fangio's time in Chicago. Modkins has also been the offensive coordinator for the 49ers and Bills during his time in the NFL.

Mike Munchak (offensive line): Munchak is one of the most respected coaches in the league and was a Hall of Fame player -- class of '01. Including his playing career, Munchak has been in the NFL for 37 years. He has been an offensive line coach for 19 seasons and was the Tennessee Titans' head coach from 2011 to 2013. He has coached seven different offensive linemen who have been named to the Pro Bowl and spent the past five years with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Justin Rascati (quality control/offense): Rascati is the former offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Rascati won a national championship as a player at James Madison and played two seasons in the Arena Football League before beginning his coaching career.

Rich Scangarello (offensive coordinator): Scangarello spent the past two years on Kyle Shanahan's San Francisco 49ers staff as quarterbacks coach and has called Shanahan an important mentor in his career. He brings plenty of college coaching experience with 17 years overall -- 14 of those years he was his team's quarterbacks coach, passing game coordinator or offensive coordinator.

DEFENSE

Chris Beake (defensive assistant): Beake has been on the Broncos' staff since 2013, meaning he's been through three different head coaches in John Fox, Gary Kubiak and Joseph before Fangio's arrival. His father, John, was a longtime Broncos general manager. He has 21 years of NFL experience.

Ed Donatell (defensive coordinator): Donatell enters his third stint with the team. He was previously on the staffs of Broncos head coaches Mike Shanahan and Josh McDaniels. Donatell was on Fangio's defensive staff for each of the past eight years in both San Francisco and Chicago.

Reggie Herring (linebackers): Herring was retained from Joseph's staff and has been with the Broncos since Kubiak's first season as head coach in 2015. Herring coached the team's inside linebackers for each of the past three seasons.

Mike Hiestand (assistant to the head coach/quality control): Hiestand's father, Harry, is the current offensive line coach for the Bears and worked with Fangio in Chicago. Mike Hiestand was the defensive coordinator at Ave Maria University in southwest Florida the past three seasons and also worked on Notre Dame's coaching staff. He is in his first season as an NFL assistant.

Renaldo Hill (defensive backs): Hill, who spent two seasons as a Broncos safety during his 10-year playing career, has named Donatell as one of the major influences in his coaching career. Hill was on the Miami Dolphins' staff last season and started his coaching career at the University of Wyoming in 2012.

Bill Kollar (defensive line): Kollar is considered one of the best defensive line coaches in the league and is another of the coaches retained from Joseph's staff who also worked on Kubiak's staff with the Broncos. He has spent the past 29 years as a defensive line coach.

Brandon Staley (outside linebackers): A former college quarterback, Staley spent the past two seasons with Fangio as the Bears' linebackers coach. He has been a defensive coordinator in the college ranks -- at both John Carroll and James Madison.

Nathaniel Willingham (quality control/defense): Willingham, whose father, Tyrone, was Stanford's head coach for seven seasons, spent the past four years with the Cardinal's program -- two as a defensive assistant, one as a recruiting assistant and one as a volunteer assistant coach. He spent one year on Menlo College's staff just north of Palo Alto before going to Stanford in 2015.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Tom McMahon (special-teams coordinator): After his first season with the Broncos in '18, McMahon was retained from Joseph's staff. The Broncos led the league this past season in blocked kicks with four -- two blocked field goals, one blocked extra point and one blocked punt. McMahon came to the Broncos after five years as the Indianapolis Colts' special teams coordinator and has spent the past 12 seasons in the NFL.

Chris Gould (assistant special teams): Gould has been with the Broncos since 2015 and has worked with the Broncos' kickers extensively. He's a former kicker and punter at the University of Virginia. Gould's brother, Robbie, is poised to be an unrestricted free agent and has kicked in the NFL since 2005.