Sean Payton made sweeping changes to the team’s coaching staff when he arrived this spring, bringing back just four coaches from Nathaniel Hackett’s old staff.
Payton brought back one offensive quality control coach, a strength coach and two defensive assistants: defensive line coach Marcus Dixon and defensive backs coach Christian Parker.
Keeping Parker and Dixon was a priority for Payton. Both are young, promising coaches who have bright futures in the NFL. Parker, in particular, has been mentioned as a future defensive coordinator candidate by pundits and he’s been praised by coaches.
“He’s sharp, man,” current defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said of Parker on June 14. “He’s sharp. He’s a star. He is a great partner to work with. As a veteran coach, I’ve coordinated for about seven years now. My tape is out there, so I’m looking for ways to do different things.
“[I’ve been] speaking with Christian every day and bouncing ideas off him from what he’s done with Vic [Fangio] and guys in the past has been fun. [We’re] making changes and growing off what they did last year. He’s smart, he works his butt off and his players love playing for him. He’s a star.”
Parker, 31, played college football at Richmond before getting his coaching start as a DBs coach at Virginia State in 2013. He went on to spend time with Norfolk State, Notre Dame and Texas A&M from 2015-2018 before getting his first NFL opportunity as a defensive quality control coach with the Green Bay Packers in 2019.
After two seasons with the Packers, Paker joined the Broncos as their DBs coach in 2021. Parker has impressed as a position coach in Denver and he will undoubtedly be a candidate for a promotion down the road.
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