The relationship between Greg Knapp and Peyton Manning will be jumpstarted this week.
When Mike McCoy was hired as San Diego's new head coach, quarterbacks coach Adam Gase was promoted to offensive coordinator.
Now, the Denver Broncos have hired former Oakland Raiders OC Greg Knapp to be their QBs coach.
Knapp has coached in the NFL since 1995, acting as an offensive coordinator from 2001-2009 for the 49ers, Falcons, Raiders and Seahawks before becoming the Texans QBs coach in 2010 and 2011. And last year, he was again the OC for the Raiders.
For Knapp and the Broncos, hiring him Saturday was a big bonus because it means he gets to work with quarterback Peyton Manning.
Denver's coaching staff is in Hawai'i for the Pro Bowl this week, as is Manning, who was the highest-voted player this year meaning he will be the AFC's starting quarterback.
Of course, with the short practice time and a squad of All-Stars, there's no way the two can actually run the offense the same way the Broncos eventually will, but it will still be a great opportunity for the two to work together before minicamps even open.
According to NFL.com, Manning – arguably the hardest working player in the NFL – was seen Tuesday sitting in a close group with Matt Schaub, Andrew Luck and the Denver offensive staff long after the NFC's contingent of players and coaches had left for the evening.
And Manning had a message for his fellow stars Tuesday evening, imploring them all to play hard this Sunday.
“"The past two years, the play in this game has been unacceptable," Manning said. "If it was a walkthrough, your coach would say it was a bad walkthrough. And that's why (the league) could try to cancel this game."
The game kicks off at 7 p.m. ET this Sunday on NBC.
Rich Kurtzman is a freelance journalist. You can follow Rich on twitter or facebook for all your Denver Broncos and NFL news and opinion.
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